The Squint in the Sand
by ScienceGeek2587
Summary: Booth and Brennan are dispatched to investigate bone fragments found near a town of scientists. Their friends plot deviously to get them together.
1. Chapter 1

The Squint in the Sand

Chapter 1

Seeley Booth strolled into the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab looking for his partner. The bright sun reflected off a myriad of shiny metal instruments and glass and Booth was tempted to put his sunglasses back on. He pulled a card out of his pocket and swiped it with a deft and practiced movement as he bounded up the steps to the platform. There was no one there. He exited the other side and headed for Dr. Brennan's office. There was soft jazz playing from Angela's office nearby as Booth entered Dr. Brennan's office.

"Hey, Bones..." The office was empty. He could see Dr. Brennan's bag against the desk so she was in the building somewhere. He strode off toward Angela's office. Angela was sitting at her computer with her back to him as he stuck his head in. "Hey sexy, she's in Limbo...alone" she said without turning around.

"Uh, thanks Angela." Booth called as he headed to Bone Storage. While he should have thought Angela's comment odd, it was Angela so he just ignored it. He passed Wendell as he left Angela's office.

"Good game Saturday, you see it?" Wendell asked as Booth clapped his shoulder.

"Nah, I had Parker at the playground. Bones still in Limbo?"

"Yeah, she hates it when we call it that though. Got a case?"

"I know she hates it." Booth cracked a wicked smile, "No, I have to collect her notes for a case file. See you later."

"Bye" Wendell chuckled as he imagined Booth annoying Dr. Brennan.

Booth walked into Bone Storage expecting his partner to be sitting at a table up front examining a skeleton but he couldn't see her. He started down an aisle. She was standing in front of a wall of giant apothecary drawers each with a set of unidentified human remains in it. She was holding a clipboard and a thick stack of files and was examining the case numbers on each of the drawers. She was biting her lip and lost in thought. Three separate thoughts flashed instantaneously through his head: startle her, move a drawer out and hide, she was awfully cute. He shook his head and decided to startle her.

"Bones!" She gasped and lost two of her files.

"Booth. You scared me." She scolded. Booth reached her and helped her pick up her files.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself. What are you working on?"

"Just getting ready to pull a box. You came for my notes?"

"Yeah. Decided not to root through the papers on your desk. Its been awhile since you kicked anybody and I didn't want to give you a reason to."

"I'm coming." She said distractedly as she tried to arrange a box and her stack of files in her arms.

"Let me." Booth sighed grabbing the box from her. "So who's this?"

"That's what I'm going to try and determine." Booth rolled his eyes and followed her.

Booth set the box on her couch as she set her stack on her desk and grabbed another file for him. Angela swooped in beaming.

"Sweetie, take Booth to lunch today, I have to do something."

"What do you need to do? I'm not that hungry, I can wait."

"No, it will be awhile. Booth, take her to lunch. See ya Sweetie." Angela was gone before ether of them could answer her.

"Lunch it is. Come on Bones." Booth said.

"I'm really not that hungry, its okay..."

"Nope, you heard the woman, take off that lab coat and lets go. I just have to file this first." Booth gestured with the file as he walked towards her. He put his hand on her shoulder with the intention of helping her out of the lab coat. He suddenly felt very self-conscious and dropped his hand. She had figured that he was going to make her go so she was already removing the coat. She glanced at him and sighed, completely oblivious to his sudden discomfort. She started out the door and he automatically placed his hand at the small of her back. Neither of them saw Angela peek out of her office and snicker.

"I think Angela is mad at me." Brennan said thoughtfully as she buckled her seatbelt.

"What?" Booth asked as he climbed into the driver's seat.

"Angela keeps canceling dates and she's been telling my to take you places. Maybe she's jealous."

"Maybe she's hiding a new beau."

"No, she always tells me. She is very open about her love life. She told me that Hodgins..."

"Bones!" Booth interrupted. "I don't want to know. I don't want to have to try and work with him if I hear what you two have been gossiping about." He paused for a moment, "Do you two gossip about me?"

"Not too much lately, you don't have a girlfriend and you don't discuss your sex life."

"Bones!"

"You asked." Booth groaned and decided it would be best not to continue the conversation. Brennan glanced at him and noted he had a funny look on her face. She was confused by her emotions. She felt delighted at his discomfit and slightly guilty. It was an odd way to feel. _I've been hanging out with Sweets too lon_g, she thought to herself.

"How is Parker doing? How was your weekend with him?" Bones asked as they walked into the Hoover building.

"Good. We played football. He's trying to talk his mom into letting him go to a sleep-away camp. She says he's too young."

"Do you think he's too young?"

"I suppose. I just think he would have fun though."

"You know there's a science day-camp at the Jeffersonian. You could talk to Cam about it."

"Hey, he would like that." Booth crossed his office to collect his own file and Brennan picked up a picture off his desk. It was a picture of Booth and Parker at some kind of gathering. Booth was wrestling with Parker and someone had said something to make them both look at the camera mid-wrestle.

"This is new. Where was this?" She asked

"That was at his end-of-the-year picnic from school." Booth said cheerfully while he rooted through a mess of paper on his desk. Brennan stared thoughtfully at the picture. A gentle smile pulled at her mouth. She set the picture down and followed him out of the office. Charlie stopped them just outside Booth's office.

"Got something for you two." He said handing Booth a file with a bemused expression on his face. "Someone found something out in Virginia."

"Well that was descriptive." Brennan said.

"Bones, did you just use sarcasm?" Booth and Charlie looked dumbfounded.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. My dad and I were teasing this weekend and I was getting good at it. I guess I got used to it."

"I'm impressed." Booth looked at her with admiration. Charlie chuckled. Brennan looked at Charlie, slightly annoyed. She had assumed that he was chuckling at her, he was really chuckling at Booth.

"A scientist found what appear to be bone fragments. They were found in a sand pit on federal land just outside the town. I guess they all live in a group, like a commune."

"The bone fragments?" Brennan asked as she took the file from Booth.

"No, a bunch of scientists live on a commune. They just spend all day doing research or science stuff and have no outside lives. The local cops said they were really difficult to deal with."

"Imagine that." Booth said shooting Brennan a furtive look, hoping she would miss the sarcasm as usual.

"Why would we imagine it since we have to go talk to them anyway?" Brennan asked. Booth was relieved as he and Charlie exchanged looks.

"You guys should go undercover as married scientists who want to join their commune." Charlie ventured. Booth and Brennan both looked at him as though his head were green with purple polka dots.

"You're talking about The Walden Group. Its not a closed society. They read outside news and books. They speak at conferences, and publish. I know some of them. Being undercover won't help us get any information." Booth nodded and handed Charlie the report they had come to file. Charlie watched them walk to the elevator and thought to himself, _I tried._

* * *

"I still say we could have stopped to eat."

"I don't want them to..."

"...compromise the remains. We don't even know if there are any more remains." Booth smiled warmly, she was nothing if not dedicated. "At least let me stop for some drive-through, we still have another 45 minutes of driving ahead of us. We can eat on the drive. Who knows when we'll get to eat once we are there. You know you hate to stop once you get started."

"Alright, but stop somewhere where I can get a salad." Brennan conceded. Her tone was one of exasperation but her face showed she was amused. He was really very thoughtful.

"So what is this Walden Group?"

"It is a group of scientists of many different disciplines and a few support staff that want to study and research without the interference of others."

"I thought you said they weren't a closed society."

"They're not all the way closed. They just want contact on their terms."

"Boy I bet they are mad at having cops and FBI everywhere." Brennan's phone started ringing.

"Brennan...Hi Angela." Brennan put it on speaker phone.

"_Hi. You haven't come back from lunch yet and I was hoping..."_

"Hey Angela." Booth said.

"Uh, hi Booth." Angela said, realizing she was on speaker phone.

"What were you hoping?" Booth asked Angela.

"Oh...uh, I was hoping you got a case or something. Its getting boring around here."

"Well, we might have a case." Brennan said. While Brennan talked with Angela about the case, Booth started thinking about how nice Brennan's voice was. He liked Angela, but she was animated and usually loud. Brennan's voice was soothing and even when she whined at him it was nice. _Booth, what is with you?_ he asked himself. He was still lost in his own head when Brennan hung up.

"Booth, she's right. Booth? Hey Booth!"

"Huh? I'm sorry. What did you say?"

"I said she's right. The whole sand pit will probably have to be sifted for more bone fragments. Hodgins will be thrilled."

"From what it says in the file, they fragments are so small that its hard to say if they are even human."

"Bones from all vertebrates share many characteristics, the way they are made, basic structure; but there are differences too, shape, size, the density of the bone and markers like muscle attachments. Why are you laughing at me?"

"I have no doubt that you will be able to tell if they are human. I just meant that the forensic team on site may not. They may have called us out there for some animal's leftovers. There may be nothing to investigate."

"Oh." Brennan was too flustered by his flattery to be angry about him laughing at her.

"So, what are these scientists like, are they like Hodgins, with the conspiracies?"

"No. They want to be free of administrative issues and the press and they just want to work."

"Ever consider living here?"

"No, I'm an anthropologist. I study people, why would I live away from them?"

"Now don't take this the wrong way, but do they watch each other in order to keep the research...you know, ethical?"

"Most scientists are out to conduct pure and ethical research, it really isn't necessary but yes, like any society they regulate member's behavior with laws. They are still subject to the laws of the United States and adhere to the conventions of ethical research." Brennan knew he wasn't trying to imply anything about scientists in general, but she was still a little ruffled. "Admittedly, like any sub-culture, they have views that differ from their cultural norm."

"A whole town of squints. So are these guys the best and brightest?" Booth teased.

"I object to the assumptions that the scientists are all men. Most of them are good scientists but not the best in their fields. They don't interact with the scientific community enough to have the connections that typically earn one acclaim."

"I didn't mean men, when I said guys." Brennan's phone rang. "I know there are women scientists. I spend all day with a beautiful forensic anthropologist who **is** the best."

"Brennan...Wait, you think I'm beautiful?" _Damn_, Booth thought, _I hope that isn't Angela._

"_You are beautiful Sweetie, its about time he noticed_." _This can't end well. _Booth knew he was in trouble now, she had answered it on speaker phone.

"I just meant that..." Booth started.

"_What's going on there?_" Angela pressed.

"Booth thinks that most scientists are men." Brennan huffed.

"I do not, that's what I was saying. I work with women scientists at the Jeffersonian every day."

"_I'm not a scientist, Brennan is hot, and you two should make this a weekend_."

"Look at that, we're here." Booth announced shoving the SUV in park. He wasn't even going to attempt to salvage any dignity, he opened the door and ran.

"Why did you call Ange?" Brennan asked as she watched Booth escape.

"_Hodgins wants to know if you want him to meet you there._"

"He just wants to play in the sand. We may. I'll need to see what's going on first."

"_Sweetie, it will be late by the time you guys are done. You should stay there and drive back in the morning._" Angela knew she didn't have to be subtle with Brennan, she wouldn't get it anyway.

"We'll see Ange." Brennan tucked the phone in her pocket and headed towards Booth.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Dr. Brennan pulled on her gloves and joined her partner who was talking to law enforcement at the scene.

"...tried to question them but they are like robots, they have no emotion."

"Officer Sommers, this is my partner, world-famous anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan." Booth glared at the cop hoping he would understand what Booth was trying to say. Fortunately he did.

"Pleasure to meet you Dr. Brennan. There are a lot of scientists here, you'll feel right at home."

"Except one of them may have murdered someone."

"Uh, yeah...well, here are the fragments we found." The young cop looked like he wanted to run away, Booth knew the feeling. Brennan took the evidence bag from him and opened it. There were four tiny pieces of bone inside. She looked closely at each and turned them gently in her experienced hands. They were stark white. They felt smooth, too smooth. She had felt tens of thousands of bones through gloves, there was something off with these. They looked thin and soft, damaged. They were damaged but she could tell they were human.

"Its two pieces of a skull and two pieces of a long bone, humerus maybe. They have been damaged. Probably by acid. It is unlikely that there is any soft tissue in that sand but there may be more bone fragments. We should get Hodgins out here to help the forensics team sift through the pit. We need to test the sand before they start digging. I don't know if acid damaged the bones before they were thrown in there or if the sand itself is acidic. The friction from the moving sand will destroy whatever Bones are left. This will be arduous." She pulled her gloves off and starting talking on her phone.

"You heard the lady, everyone away from the sand until our Bug-and-Slime Guy gets here!" Booth called to the investigators on-scene. "Bones, they have a guy that says there is someone missing from this Walden Group commune-thing. We should go talk to him." Brennan looked apprehensively at the people milling around the sand pit but acquiesced and followed Booth.

They approached a short man with light brown hair and a friendly smile. He reminded Brennan of her father, though he was considerably younger.

"Bones," Booth whispered, "he looks like a younger version of your dad!" Brennan shot him a look meaning that he should be quiet. "Excuse me sir, I'm Special Agent Booth with the FBI and this..."

"Dr. Brennan! I'm Dr. Tiernan Shannon. I attended the speech you gave last year at the Jeffersonian. I was particularly intrigued with your theory on identifying bullets my markings left on the bone. Have you had much success in your research?" The pleasant man had a slight Irish accent and his blue eyes sparkled as he spoke. He looked more like Max Keenan with every word and was obviously taken with Dr. Brennan.

"Dr. Shannon, you are doing research in structural evolution of primate skulls. I read your paper. I really haven't has as much time to devote to research as I would like lately." She glanced at Booth.

"Ah, busy with the FBI. I understand. You know, when you are done with the crime scene here, I have a crushed gorilla skull that I would love your insight on."

"I'm afraid that Dr. Brennan will be heading back to D.C. later tonight." Booth said, louder than he meant to. "What can you tell us about the missing scientist?"

"Oh, yeah, um. Robert Newton was a mediator here." Brennan couldn't quite stifle a snicker. "I know, isn't that funny?"

"What, what's funny?" Booth looked from scientist to scientist.

"Booth, you know, Robert Oppenheimer and Isaac Newton..." Booth still looked confused. "Never mind." The scientists shared a bemused look. "A mediator? What, besides the obvious, did he do here?"

"What do you mean the obvious?" Booth was quite flustered at being confused. He was used to being confused at the Jeffersonian but there he had Angela to translate. He was all alone here. Brennan and Shannon both ignored him.

"He mostly refereed games and contests. There was the occasional squabble over equipment but there wasn't a whole lot for him to do. Except for arguments between Dr. Benjamin and Dr. Wickman. They are always fighting and we finally had to call Robert to come help."

"Oh, I get it, so Mr. Newton was like a cop?" Booth looked pleased with himself that he could follow the conversation again. Brennan looked at him for a second and went back to Dr. Shannon.

"Could you tell us where Dr. Benjamin and Dr. Wickman work?"

"Sure, they both work at the physics labs. Dr. Benjamin is an Electrical Engineer working on a perpetual-motion generator and Dr. Wickman in a particle physicist working on a fusion chamber."

"Ah." Brennan nodded knowingly. "Thank you Dr. Shannon. Could we have your number so that we can contact you if we have any further questions?"

"Anything you need Dr. Brennan." Dr. Shannon said a little too enthusiastically while he retrieved a business card from his wallet. Booth was flustered by the conversation but now he was shaken by the looks exchanged between the scientists. He stepped between them before himself before he could think.

"Thank you Dr. Shannon." Booth towered over the man but he calmly handed Booth the card smiling pleasantly.

"It was a pleasure to meet you Agent Booth. Best of luck." The man flashed another broad smile at Dr. Brennan and got on a bicycle. He rode serenely toward the town. Booth turned to see Brennan smiling warmly at the retreating scientists.

"We should get a picture of this Robert Newton guy..." Brennan let out a small snicker at the man's name. "...and talk to those energy geeks." Booth shot her a slightly annoyed look.

"We aren't leaving the scene until Hodgins and Wendell get here." Brennan walked quickly back to the SUV and opened the back. She dug a magnifying glass out of her bag and pulled on some gloves. She sat in the back of the truck and started to examine the bone fragments closely, casting furtive glances at the sand pit. Booth sighed and wandered off to talk to Officer Sommers about getting a missing person's file on Robert Newton.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Dr. Brennan hadn't really been able to get any further with the bone fragments when an army of people arrived from the Jeffersonian. They were quickly brought up to date and began the long process of gently sifting the sand to find more bones. Hodgins had obviously been on the phone with Angela all the way to the scene, she called not 5 minutes after their arrival.

"Hey Ange. I don't have much for you to do. I will have more when they find more bones for me. The fragments we have are pretty damaged, a skull reconstruction may be difficult."

"_I'm sure you will figure it out Sweetie. What's going on with Agent Hot Stuff? Any more talk of your beauty?_"

"Angela, we are working. He didn't mean it like that. He didn't want to get yelled at for assuming that all scientists are men." Brennan glanced around before telling Angela about Dr. Shannon.

"_And how did Booth react?_"

"I don't know he seemed kind of confused."

"Who was confused?" Booth arrived holding two large sodas. "No coffee but that's okay, its kind of hot out here anyway."

"Angela and I were just gossiping about her last date." Brennan lied hoping he would fall for it.

"Uh, huh. Well let's go Bones, the Squint Squad is here to sift sand. Let's go question scientists."

"I have to go Ange. Talk to you later." Brennan hung up before Angela could say anything. She placed the bone fragments back in the evidence bag and put them in her pocket. She fussed with her bag a moment and closed the back hatch of the SUV. "Lets go Booth."

"I don't want to give too much away so just..."

"...let you do the talking. I know. You know, Booth, its likely that they will guess why we're here at first glance. There's a man missing from a commune next to federal land and the FBI walks in to ask a few questions. Its obvious don't you think?"

"Well, Bones, not everyone has as much experience with the FBI as you do. They're scientists, I've noticed that many of them are a little oblivious to things sometimes." Booth was trying to be delicate. Brennan shot him a look. Not delicate enough. "These are your kind of people, I do welcome your input." Booth flashed his most charming smile hoping to ebb her anger. Brennan fought a smile but lost. Booth knew he was forgiven.

They drove through into the main part of the small commune. There were large buildings of varying shapes scattered around the area. Each was marked with a large white sign with black block print. Booth noticed that the buildings were utilitarian with little landscaping or decoration except odd items in the ground surrounding each sign.

"Oh look how each field decorated near their sign. I bet it was a competition." Booth realized she was right. There were strange plants near the sign marked Botany, a light display near a building marked Optics. "There's the physics area." Brennan pointed, "...and there is the Alternative Energy Building. That's where we will find Dr. Benjamin and Dr. Wickman." Booth looked over at Brennan , she looked positively excited. The building was a maze of large open labs but Brennan just walked through confidently looking curiously at each lab's work. She stopped and pointed ahead of her.

"There, they are working on a fusion reactor there." They walked to the entrance to the lab and Booth cleared his throat.

"Excuse me, we are looking for a Dr. Benjamin."

"Wickman. Wickman is the Particle Physicist."

"Wickman. Dr. Wickman."

"I'm Dr. Wickman." An older gentleman in a lab coat approached them looking a little harried. "What is this about please?"

"What's going on, are you a little nervous?" Booth looked pleased with himself.

"Yes, I'm close to another test of the reactor and need to get back to work."

"Well, I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth with the FBI and this is my partner, Dr..."

"Dr. Temperance Brennan. I read that article you published in Forensic Anthropology last year. It so intrigued me that I read your books. Its a pleasure to meet you."

"Well, thank you." Booth cut her short with a look.

"This is about Robert Newton, isn't it? I didn't like the man but I wouldn't harm him. There's no rational reason to."

"We heard that Mr. Newton broke up a few disagreements between you and a Dr. Benjamin."

"Well, he did mediate a couple of heated negotiations when Dr. Benjamin and I were up for the same funding. Why would that make me want to kill him?"

"Whoa, who said anything about killing him?" Booth said.

"Well its obvious isn't it? A small town near federal land, one man missing and an FBI Agent here questioning people? He was killed and dumped next door. I didn't do it though." Brennan nodded at his assessment of the situation. Booth looked a little taken aback.

"Dr. Wickman, we don't yet know the identity of those remains. We understand that Robert Newton also refereed contests and games. Is there anyone who lost frequently and who may have thought Mr. Newton unfair?" Brennan asked, taking control of the situation. A sideways glance from Booth went unnoticed by Dr. Brennan and Dr. Wickman.

"He wasn't objective. He mediated disputes by finding favor with political associates. You'll find he had many enemies."

"Do you count yourself among them?" Dr. Brennan asked. Booth was impressed. She was getting better.

"Not enemies per se, but I didn't like the man. When Dr. Benjamin and I argued, he sided with him hoping to get into the good graces of his ex-wife. Killing the man wouldn't have accomplished anything. The mushroom-hoppers will just hire another like him."

"Mushroom-hopper?" Booth asked.

"Field Botanists" Brennan whispered.

"No net gain. No motive." Dr. Wickman glanced at his watch and back to his lab.

"So, Mr. Newton's ex-wife works with Dr. Benjamin?" Booth asked.

"A Field Botanist is in a position of authority here?" Dr. Brennan asked.

"The former Mrs. Newton is now Mrs. Benjamin. And yeah, the Botanist was elected mayor last winter because he didn't have much to do. He appointed some of his colleagues as advisors. They are doing some kind of fieldwork in Canada. Check with the interns in the Botany lab or maybe with the MD/PhDs in the Medical lab. Is there anything else you need? I really need to get back to work."

"I think that's everything Dr. Wickman. Oh, Maybe you can tell us where to find Dr. Benjamin?" Booth put a notepad back into his pocket.

"Head in that direction. He's trying to build a perpetual motion generator." The man chuckled a patronizing chuckle. "Look for a giant chrome waste of time and energy."

"That was weird." Booth whispered in Brennan's ear as they headed toward Dr. Benjamin's lab.

"Why? It was factual and helpful. What made it weird."

"It was just...Never mind, Bones." They rounded a corner and it became clear to what Dr. Benjamin had been referring. There was a giant chrome motor with belts and chains all over it. It wasn't running but Booth imagined that the noise would be deafening.

"This does not look very fruitful." Brennan commented as they entered the lab. "Excuse me, may we speak with Dr. Benjamin." She called into the lab.

"Bones." Booth hissed. Brennan shrugged at him.

"I'm Dr. Benjamin. How can I help you?" He smiled at them.

"I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth and this is my partner..." Booth paused expecting the man to know her, "Dr. Temperance Brennan."

"Ah yes, this is about Robert. Its too bad he was killed, Judy has been really upset by it."

"Who said anything about him being killed?" Booth asked again. Brennan looked at him and rolled her eyes.

"Um, FBI, federal land nearby, missing man, he was killed and dumped somewhere next door. It's kind of obvious." Dr. Benjamin smiled pleasantly at them.

"We have yet to identify the remains, Dr. Benjamin. We are simply looking into his disappearance." Brennan volunteered. Booth glowered at her.

"You are married to Mr. Newton's ex-wife, Judy, you said?" Booth asked.

"Yes. They found that they were not compatible so they divorced two years ago. She has been working here as an assistant for the last three years. Shortly after her divorce we began seeing each other socially. Three months ago we married. Robert was in attendance. He was happy she had found a new love. We have dinner a few times a week. Last week, he didn't come by. We called for a couple of days and no one had seen him. We reported him missing when no one knew where he was." Dr. Benjamin was calm and relaxed and was conversing as though they were discussing the weather.

"Was there anyone that would have any reason to harm Mr. Newton?" Brennan asked.

"Dr. Lauren owed him some money and there was a rumor that he was seen fighting with Dr. Sullivan. I don't think anyone would actually want to kill Robert though."

"I need the full names and discipline of Dr. Lauren and Dr. Sullivan please." Dr. Brennan asked.

"Yeah, sure, Dr. Katherine Lauren, she goes by Katie though, she's a Biochemist working to sequence the RNA of the rhinovirus. Dr. James Sullivan is a Neurologist working at the Medical Lab. I'm not sure what he is working on."

"Thank you Dr. Benjamin. We'll contact you if we have any further questions." Dr. Brennan turned to leave.

"Bones!" Booth hissed. "Um, Dr. Benjamin, I have some questions."

"Okay Agent Booth."

"Special Agent Booth. Mr. Newton had no problem with you marrying his ex-wife? Isn't that a little odd?"

"No, why would he have a problem with it? He had divorced her. Their relationship was over."

"You don't think he might have been a little jealous?"

"Jealousy is an instinctual response designed to protect a procreative relationship when there is a limited number of potential mates. As we live in an increasingly global culture, there is no limit to the potential mates so why would there be jealousy?" Brennan was satisfied with the response but Booth could only stifle the desire to roll his eyes.

"You don't think he had any discomfort in seeing you romantically involved with his ex-wife?" Booth pressed.

"Perhaps he had moments of discomfort, what one might call pangs. But he was always quite jovial and pleasant."

"Well thank you Dr. Benjamin." Booth put his hand on Brennan's back and shooed her out of the lab. "Did you see that guy, if he was such good friends with Robert, why doesn't he seem upset by his death. That guy was acting like we were just chatting about nothing at all."

"Booth, we have no confirmation that those bone fragments are from Mr. Newton. I'm sure that Dr. Benjamin just feels that there is no sense in being upset until there is something to be upset about."

"And what was with Dr. Wickman. Man, was he jumpy!"

"Don't I get impatient when you interrupt my work?" Brennan said defensively, "It doesn't mean that I'm doing anything wrong."

"You're right. Let's go check in with Hodgins." Brennan gave her head a nod and walked to the SUV.

"Hodgins! Wendell! Find anything?" Booth called as he walked to the sand pit.

"Not really Booth. We've been sifting slowly to preserve what may be here. There are a lot of beer bottles and trash but no more bone fragments. I'm collecting samples as we sift. The sand has an acidic pH but not low enough to do that to a corpse."

"What now Bones?" Booth asked tentatively seeing the look on her face.

"I'm not going to know anything more until I get these bone fragments to the lab so I can look at them properly."

"Well, then we will head back to D.C. Hodgins, keep us posted."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It was late when Booth pulled into the parking ramp of the Jeffersonian. He pulled into Hodgins' usual spot next to Dr. Brennan's car and turned off the engine. He turned to wake her but his breath caught in his throat. She had been asleep for most of the ride back and she was now slumped down with her head resting on her seatbelt. The lights in the parking ramp entered the SUV and played with the shadows on her face. The light was coming from outside the vehicle so he could only see a shadowy silhouette while the outline of her profile seemed to glow. He stared at her peaceful slumber and lost any sense of time. He had to wake her, he didn't want to but if he tried to drive her home she would just take a cab back to work. It was better that he was around so he could take her home if she got too tired.

"Bones. Bones we're here." Booth said gently, quietly. She stirred a bit but didn't wake. "Bones." He said a little louder. Still no movement. Booth reflexively reached to touch her shoulder but stopped, his hand hovering between her shoulder and her cheek. His hand tingled. He looked at it curiously. His nerves had received the signal from his brain to expect the warmth and softness of her skin but still his hand hung in the air. The confusion made the nerves tingle. It was like they, independent of his conscious thought, wanted to touch her. Fate won, she shifted and her cheek brushed lightly on his hand. "Bones, we're here." He said.

"Mmm. Oh. What?" She mumbled as she woke. She felt his hand on her cheek and opened her eyes to see his face less than an inch from hers.

"We're at the Jeffersonian." He whispered hoarsely. She slowly regained full consciousness and looked into his eyes. The shadows darkened his eyes but she could see their customary warmth and something else she couldn't identify. She looked at his face and traced its lines with her eyes. His strong brow ridge, the zygomatic arches, the sharp angle of his mandible. She lingered a moment then started to sit up. With her movement he sat back into his seat. The intensity of the moment hung in the air but the foolish partners went back to their oblivion. "I assume you are wanting to look at those fragments tonight?"

"Yes, there isn't any further to go until we know who this is. Are you coming in, or should I call you in the morning with what I find?"

"Not happening, if I leave you here you won't sleep or worse, you will try to drive home drowsy. I want to look at Robert Newton and I need to make notes about our interviews today. Are you hungry, should we have something delivered?"

"Sure." She said as she retrieved her bag from the back seat and climbed out of the SUV.

As they crossed the lab to get to Brennan's office, a familiar squeal and its maker pounced on them.

"So tell me about Dr. Handsome!" Angela grabbed Brennan's arm.

"It wasn't a date, Ange. He seemed nice." Brennan said. Booth shifted uncomfortably. Angela eyed his discomfit with glee.

"Cam said to send you to give her an update when you got here." Angela said looking at Booth.

"I'll go fill her in." Booth mumbled, not meeting Angela's eyes. Angela followed Brennan into Brennan's office and stood with her hand on her hip, waiting.

"Well?"

"Well what Ange?"

"Booth calls you beautiful, you meet up with a sexy PhD, and all you can say is 'well what?'"

"That's all that happened. What more do you want?"

"Oh, I don't know, Booth got jealous hit the guy and you spent the rest of the ride home feeling him up."

"What?"

"Nothing Sweetie." Angela called as she strode back to her office. Brennan was confused but shook it off and pulled on her lab coat.

"Cam?"

"Come on in Seeley."

"Not much to go on, missing guy, a few pieces of bone, giant sand pit."

"Hodgins must be overjoyed."

"Oh yeah. Bones has the fragments and I'm sure she'd already squinting at them."

"I hear you called Brennan beautiful. Angela is ecstatic." She eyed him for a moment, reading him. "Well, I'll be heading out of here soon, let me know if you need anything."

"Will do." Booth called on his way back to Brennan's office. He glanced at the platform to see her seated looking at a screen. He crossed to the platform and swiped his card. "See anything, Bones?"

"These are very damaged. They have been soaked in acid. I don't think I can get any DNA off of them. I really can't see much of anything. These are little more than thin hollow chunks of calcium." Booth stared thoughtfully at the screen.

"So there are no tumors, no little holes, none of the things you usually find for me so we can identify them?"

"No Booth, maybe there will be something when we find the rest of the bones." Booth glanced at his partner, she looked tired, a little defeated. He fought the compulsion to hug her. Cam walked around the platform and called to them.

"Anything?" Booth shook his head slightly. "There isn't much else to do tonight. I just got off the phone with Hodgins and they are packing up for the night. They will be back soon and get started again tomorrow morning."

"Bones, lets go get something to eat and then get a fresh start in the morning." Brennan sighed and put the bone fragments away. Cam waved Booth over while Brennan was busy finishing up.

"She looks a little sick, maybe you shouldn't let her drive. Make sure she gets home okay."

"You think she looks sick? Tired maybe, a little frustrated at not finding anything yet, but sick?" Booth started to look worried. Cam swallowed a chuckle and stifled a smile.

"Yeah. This case will be challenging, she's going to need to be ready."

"Uh, yeah, ready..." Booth muttered distractedly and walked quickly after Brennan into her office. When he was out of ear shot, Cam started laughing. _Too easy_, she thought.

Brennan was seated on her couch scribbling furiously on a clipboard. Booth tried to assess her health by looking at her but all he could see was tired and frustrated. Cam had medical training, she would know better than he. _If I try to feel her forehead, will she kill me_? Booth decided that his best chance was to sit nearby and work and hope he could get a better look. He sat down next to her, a little closer than usual but she didn't seem to notice. He pulled open the missing person's report on Robert Newton and began to read it. His eyes looked at each word but nothing registered. All he could think about was his partner. He glanced furtively at her, trying to see if anything was different. His fidgeting was starting to disturb her, she had stopped writing and was lost in thought. Booth tried to keep his nervousness under control. He didn't know that it wasn't his fidgeting that was bothering her.

She tried desperately to focus on her work. _He is so close. It's nice, he is warm and he smells good, even after being in the heat all day in a suit. He seems so nervous. That makes no sense, what could be making him so nervous? Temperance Brennan! Pull it together and get to work!_ She shifted a little in her seat and tried to read what she had just written. The words made no sense, she had just written it but it was just random symbols on a page. _Dinner! _She thought. _Let's order dinner. _

"I'm getting hungry, why don't we get some dinner." Brennan looked at Booth.

"Great idea Bones, let's order a pizza tonight?" Booth looked up smiling.

"Okay, but I'm ordering it." Brennan tried to look serious but his mischievous grin made it impossible.

"Fine, but no green olives, black are fine, but no green. And put some meat on it!" Booth dared.

"Fine, but only on half. Thin crust." Their eyes were locked, flashing with the mock-battle.

"Thick." Booth used his best authoritative tone, knowing it would annoy her.

"Do we have to do this every time?" She was weakening. Those big brown eyes and that million-dollar smile were winning.

"Just order what we always do and we can skip the negotiations." He cocked one eyebrow, flashed his best smile and rejoiced in this silly victory.

"I guess you have a point." Brennan pulled out her phone and placed the order, never taking her eyes off her partner. They gazed at each other for several minutes. The intensity of their gaze got the better of them and Brennan let out a small chuckle. Booth followed a second later laughing. They both erupted in fits of giggles. As the giggles subsided, they found themselves leaning on each other out of breath. Brennan stood to remove the little jacket that was part of her outfit. The giggling had made her feel warm. Booth was feeling warm too and took his suit jacket off and loosened his tie. Booth had tossed his jacket onto a small stack of boxes from Limbo that was near the couch.

"Booth!" Brennan scolded and walked around the coffee table to grab the jacket and hang it up. Booth snatched the jacket up and looked at her apologetically.

"Sorry, I'm so used to them being here that I didn't see them as human remains." Brennan smiled at him and her hand brushed his as she took his jacket. Electricity spread from the touch up each arm. Neither could meet the other's eyes. Brennan's computer beeped. They both walked to the desk. It was images from the scene. Wendell was uploading them on the drive back. There was just not a lot there. Brennan sat in her chair, Booth leaned against the desk and they looked at each picture hoping something would jump out at them. Brennan sighed. Booth glanced at her. She was frustrated that there wasn't more to do yet. Usually by this time, there was more work for her. Booth placed his hand on hers, stopping the mouse's movement.

"Hey" He said. "We'll find something tomorrow." Brennan's desk phone beeped.

"Dr. Brennan, did you order a pizza." It was security.

"Yeah we did."

"Okay." Booth grinned, clapped his hands together and rubbed them vigorously.

"Pizza!" There was a small scuffle as they each pulled out a bill and tried to take the other's bill to pay. Brennan's reflexes won placing her just outside her office door when the pizza arrived. Booth was sitting on the couch pouting when Brennan set the pizza on the coffee table. She lightly bounced against him as she sat down making him drop his fake pout and smile. They ate, arguing playfully about the relative merits of different toppings and crusts. The work lay forgotten in piles next to the couch. After they had eaten their fill, their discussion shifted to the scientists they interviewed that day and how one seemed too upset and the other didn't seem upset enough. The topic of the handsome Dr. Shannon was carefully avoided. Eventually, each resumed the discarded work.

After working for awhile, Brennan heard Booth's breathing become deep and regular. She glanced over and saw him dozing peacefully. She was almost done and decided to leave him be a bit until she finished then she would wake him so his back wouldn't hurt. Booth's soft snoring made her eyes heavy. She drifted off slowly, all the while believing she was still working.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Max arrived early the next morning having discovered his daughter wasn't at home. He had come to have breakfast with her. As he approached her office he was met by Angela and Cam, both delighted and whispering and waving animatedly. They stopped him short of the office and shushed him then pointed through the glass to the couch with two heads barely visible over its back. Max grinned and stepped quietly into the office. There was more wild gesturing from the women and they scurried off, Max guessing they were headed to retrieve the security tapes. He rounded his daughter's couch to see that she and Booth were cuddled up sleeping peacefully. There were files in a heap on the floor in front of them. It was obvious they had slipped from sleeping hands but a more exciting explanation teased Max's mind. Deciding to leave them alone, Max went to get some breakfast and bring it back.

Booth started to wake and felt a little disoriented. He could feel a warm body cuddled next to him and opened one eye. There was his partner, fast asleep in his arms. He tried not to feel delighted but couldn't help himself. His muscles were a little sore and he wanted to stretch them but he didn't want to wake her. He gently adjusted his limbs and then pulled her closer. He closed his eyes, smiling contentedly, dozing lightly. The smell of coffee and sausage brought him from his reverie and he felt Brennan stirring in his arms. She opened her eyes so see Booth holding her with his eyes closed. He slowly opened his eyes and before they could say anything, laughing erupted from behind the couch. They both shot up to see Angela, Cam, Hodgins, and Max grinning at them. They shot upright, flustered and embarrassed but no one offered any relief.

"Morning lovebirds." Angela crooned.

"I thought I said to take her home, Booth." Cam scolded.

"Breakfast!" Max chuckled walking around and sitting opposite them. He slid the half-eaten pizza aside and set a bag of food on the coffee table. Booth, still red-faced, sat forward and started digging into the bag. Booth knew that it was obvious they had just fallen asleep working and he knew that anything he said would bring on a fresh round of teasing. Brennan, however, felt compelled to explain.

"We were working and must have fallen asleep." Booth shot her a look, but it was too late. The room erupted into laughter again. Max handed her a cup of coffee.

"We know Tempe." he laughed.

"So, after a trip home to shower, are you two ready to head back out there?"

"The only question is who's shower will they use?" Another round of laughter.

"M..." Brennan started, but Booth shook his head.

"Yeah, we'll leave in an hour."

An hour later, breakfast had been eaten, coffee drunk, the office straightened and Booth and Brennan were showered and dressed for the day.

"Bones, you ready?" Booth said as he sauntered into her office.

"Yeah. How's your back?" She asked watching his movement carefully.

"Fine, surprisingly. Did you get enough sleep? You don't feel tired, or sick or anything?" Booth asked, thinking of Cam's statement last night.

"No, I feel fine. Well-rested."

"Let's go find some bones." Booth said as his hand found the small of her back.

The first few minutes of the ride was awkward. For something so innocent, why did they feel so embarrassed? Brennan wondered if it was because Angela would tease them mercilessly. Booth felt like he somehow had taken advantage of her. _That's ridiculous, we just fell asleep. _He reasoned. Finally, Brennan broke the silence.

"We really should go home earlier. We won't be able to work well if we are overtired."

"Angela will never let this go, you know."

"I know. I don't think Cam and Hodgins will be any better."

"You don't think your dad is upset, do you?"

"He looked very amused actually. You know, Booth, its not like we did anything."

"Well, you did cuddle up to me." Booth teased.

"I was asleep! And how do you know YOU didn't cuddle up to ME?" Brennan asked defensively.

"Well, you looked pretty comfortable."

"I have slept with men before, you have slept with women before, it is reasonable that we just shifted in our sleep..."

"Its okay, Bones." Booth chuckled. "It's not like we slept together." His offhand comment made them both think of things better left un-thought. They were unusually quiet for the rest of the drive.

Angela, Cam, and Max were in Angela's office. Just as Max suspected, the girls had retrieved the security tape of Brennan's office. They watched the two sit closely working, bickering, eating and finally drifting off to sleep.

"How can they not see this?" Angela asked.

"Its not like those two are good at self-reflection." Cam chimed in bemused.

"Its my fault, really." Max said with a note of sadness in his tone. "She was so young and we couldn't explain until so much later. Maybe I should talk to her." Cam looked at Angela, they wanted to comfort the man but did not know how.

"Max, was Brennan ever in tune with her feelings?" Angela asked.

"No, I suppose you're right there. She has always been rational to a fault." Max sighed, feeling a little better.

"Anyone have any ideas? Some way we could set up and trap them in a small space for a few days?" Cam asked.

"Maybe have them go undercover as a married couple again?" Angela volunteered.

"We should just tie them together for a few days." Caroline Julian bellowed as she stepped into the office. "Dr. Saroyan, I'm here for the notes for Friday's trial."

"They're in my office, I'll just grab them." Cam hustled off.

"Max Keenan, are you really trying to set your own daughter up with her partner?" Caroline asked.

"Booth's a good guy, and she loves him. He loves her and he'll take care of her." Max said.

"So short of drugging them and locking them in a small room together, how do we get those blind fools to see it?"

"We could book a conference or something and set up a mix-up with the hotel?" Angela suggested.

"No way, Tempe would just book a suite." Max said.

"Too bad the Gravedigger is so evil. She could help." Caroline mused. Max looked at her appreciatively. She had a dark streak. "Dr. Sweets!" Caroline scolded as he joined them. "Aren't you their therapist, how is it you can't get them to admit this?"

"They don't even talk to me. They just grill me about cases. I've made them come on a double date with my girlfriend, I've even talked them into admitting they provide a surrogate relationship for each other but they bolt like rabbits when I get close to discussing romance. I like the hotel mix-up idea. We should just make sure EVERY other room is booked."

"Max is right, Brennan will just go to another one, or share with me." Angela said.

"Undercover work?" Sweets suggested.

"Are you going to convince Cullen to let them do that?" Cam asked as she rejoined the group. "Why are you here Dr. Sweets?"

"I heard you had footage of them sleeping together."

"Do you think you could call them on their feelings for each other in therapy using the tape?" Max asked.

"Booth is kind of intimidating." Sweets admitted sheepishly. "If I push too hard and Dr. Brennan gets uncomfortable, he glares at me and ushers her out of my office."

"Excuse me, Dr. Sweets. There's an FBI Agent here to see you." A security guard said.

"Charlie, come in, you have to see this! Everybody, this is Charlie, he works with Booth."

"I've seen most of you or spoken to you on the phone." Charlie said as he inched in to see the tape play again.

"This is terrible!" Angela said. "We are a group of highly educated, intelligent people! You would think we could orchestrate a simple scenario to force these two to talk!"

"Cherie, I can try another kiss but with this one out, " she motioned to Max, "there's little motivation on their part."

"I think we are well past anything subtle." Charlie pitched. "They have rescued each other, kissed, been undercover as a married couple, and spend most of their time together. There is little else we can do to get them to figure this out on their own. I say we have an intervention." The group mulled it over thoughtfully for a few minutes.

"He's right." Angela said. "We've each separately been trying to help them, I talk with Brennan all the time about it. She told me that Inspector Pritchard even told her to do it. An intervention is the only way. If we wait for them, Max will never have grandkids."

"Count me in Cher."

"Let's wait until this case is done though, we don't want them too distracted to hear us." Cam said, ever the boss.

"Max?" Sweets asked.

"I think you guys should do it. I'm her father and it would be too awkward for me to be there telling them to get together already. I will talk to each of them again and you have my blessing to go through with it but I don't think I should be there. I will help you otherwise though."

"In a drug intervention, everyone writes a letter explaining how the addict's actions have adversely effected them. I think for this we should all write a letter explaining how we see their relationship. Normally, an intervention is done on neutral ground, but I think we will have more success in Brennan's office, her home turf. As long as we don't make Booth feel protective, it could work." The group started to break up chatting about their devious plan.

"Angela," Cam said, "we have to try not to be in the same room together with Booth."

"I know, he'll know something is up."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The day wore on. There wasn't much for Brennan and Booth to do but sit idly by and wait. Booth watched his partner pace like a caged lion. She needed to do something. He started to wonder if they shouldn't head back to D.C. and wait there. Just as he resolved himself to drag her back, Wendell started yelling.

"Hey, I've got bone fragments!" _Finally,_ Booth sighed to himself as he watched Brennan dart through the chaos. He strolled leisurely to her side knowing that she would simply dart back to the SUV to get a better look. When he reached halfway, she came rushing back toward him. He waited for her and as she neared him, one of the techs stepped in front of her, knocking her over. Booth grabbed her waist and pulled her to him, absorbing her momentum and preventing the fall. He held her close and guided her to the SUV. Hodgins nodded to Wendell and then to the pair. Wendell chuckled and went back to his sifting.

As they reached the SUV, Booth tried to make his hands let her go but they wouldn't respond right away. When they did finally loosen their grip, Brennan did not step away from him. Booth tried to convince himself that it was his imagination but his brain betrayed him. He lost himself in the scent of her hair, the sound of her breathing and the feel of her against him. _You can't do this Booth! She's your partner. You can't protect her if you are distracted by her presence! This is how mistakes happen, this is how people get hurt. Look what happened to Cam! _Booth seethed, angry at himself, he wished she would step away but he was powerless to make it happen. The truth was, he wanted her right there.

Brennan felt him grab her to stop her from falling. She thought momentarily about freeing herself and walking through the commotion independently but didn't. She tried to force her body to obey her, she couldn't understand why she couldn't step away from him. Once at Booth's SUV, he didn't release her. When she finally felt his hands loosen on her waist she willed her legs to move but they wouldn't. _Silly girl, no matter what Angela says, Booth has drawn a line. He will not go back on his word. He wants what you can't be, a wife. Surely a woman of your intelligence can make her body do her bidding, just step away! _She felt guilty, sad. She didn't want to need him, to want him, but the truth was right there in her body's response. She believed in truth, she had to accept it, she wanted to be right there.

They stood there, each berating their own brain and heart, while the commotion around them melted away. The sounds muted and the colors blurred. Booth's cheek rested slowly against her head and he inhaled deeply. Their breathing had quickened as was in sync, but as tuned as they were to the sensation of the other's body, both missed the critical struggle they were locked in. Finally, as though the air were made of lead, they moved slowly apart and the world around them existed again. Their anguished moment gone.

Brennan opened the back hatch and sat down, rummaging through her tools. She could not meet Booth's eyes so she did not see that he couldn't meet hers. She shook her head hoping to clear her mind and set about to examine the newfound bone fragments. Dr. Brennan gingerly placed the three tiny bits of bone into a petrie dish and examined them with a magnifying glass. Hodgins started yelling and she looked up.

"I've found more!" A tech brought the new fragments to her. Techs started yelling back and forth now, it seemed they had found the layer of sand in which most of the fragments were located.

As another tech brought yet another tray of fragments over, Bones was stretched out on a tarp, laying the bone fragments out, trying to get a sense of how much of the remains they had.

"Look at that Bones, the chips keep coming. Do you think he could have fallen into the sand pit?"

"First, of all, we don't know who this is, male or female. We don't know if this is even all from the same person. That sand was too dense to have fallen into. The officer said kids like to climb it."

"Do you think he could have been climbing it and his weight pushed the sand away but it pushed back burying him?" Brennan started laughing.

"Hey, that's funny!" Hodgins arrived with a new set of fragments and shared a chuckle with Brennan.

"What?" Booth asked looking at them. Brennan took a deep breath preparing to speak. _Man that was cute! _Booth thought.

"Robert **Newton?** Equal and opposite reaction?" Brennan started laughing again. Booth looked back and forth still confused.

"Its okay man, Sir Isaac **Newton** said that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." Hodgins chuckled as he walked away.

"Squint humor." Booth muttered under his breath. He was a bit miffed at being left out of the joke. He knew who Isaac Newton was, he just didn't think it was that funny. Brennan's delight melted his annoyance. Booth watched her examine the bone fragments as they came and tried not to let the way the sun danced through her hair or the little noises she made while she was lost in thought invade his consciousness. To no avail. Once, she glanced up at him and caught him staring at her but she told herself he was just waiting to hear about the bones that lay before her.

As darkness fell, the forensics team began packing up. The pit had been sifted and samples from each layer had been taken. In the end there were some 300 small pieces of the 206 bones in a human body. There was no where near a complete skeleton but some of the larger pieces looked as though some of the DNA in the marrow may have survived. Bones had carefully packaged the fragments and they were safely secured in the back of Booth's SUV. Booth took a few deep breaths as he prepared to drive back. He craved the proximity to her but feared it as well.

For the first time in years, he wanted to get away from Brennan, just a little space, but knew he wouldn't be able to do it.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The drive back was quiet. Glances darted back and forth across the dark SUV but neither could speak their thoughts and any time they tried to think of something else, they failed miserably. Something had changed. There was no comfortable banter and bickering, nothing to discuss on the case, just the deafening roar of an uncomfortable silence.

The playful and flirty tension that had always been there had been replaced by an oppressive tension. Each partner thinking that they were unworthy, unable to give in to their feelings. The mounting tension had become unbearable as they entered D.C. and there was an audible sigh of relief from both Booth and Brennan as he entered the parking ramp of the Jeffersonian. Booth walked to the back of the vehicle and helped her collect her things. He was relieved to see that all she had to carry was the package of bone fragments and her bag, that meant that he wouldn't need to enter the Jeffersonian tonight. He felt a little guilty, he usually carried stuff for her but he couldn't breathe. He just needed to get home and clear his head.

"So, you'll call me tomorrow as soon as you know something?" Booth asked quietly forcing himself not to look at her.

"Of course. I'll have Cam try and get some DNA right away in the morning. That should help us expedite this." Brennan was bad with people but even she could tell he was avoiding her gaze. She felt her stomach fall as she realized she must have gone too far, with the sleeping and then not stepping away from him. He must have been making sure she was steady and she had crossed the line by enjoying it too much, by not walking away fast enough.

"Did you want to go to the diner tonight as usual?" Booth asked so quietly that Brennan had to strain to hear him. He didn't know which was stronger, his desperation in wanting to hear yes, or his fear of hearing it. True to form, Brennan missed his internal battle and interpreted his stress as desperation to get away from her.

"I'm not really hungry. I just want to drop this stuff off and head home." Brennan fought the lump in her throat and the tears in her eyes. She had done what she feared most, made him pull away from her. _What did you expect, Temperance? You are not the kind of person who gets to have a family. You don't even want a family! He wants a wife, not just another girlfriend. Liar! _Her anger flashed!_ *You said you'd never let me fall, Booth, well I'm falling now! We'd always be together, another lie! _Booth saw her stance change and looked up. He had never seen her this angry, indignant yes, but never angry like this. God, she was beautiful, but he couldn't let her down. He couldn't fail her. He'd already let so many bad things happen to her, he had to stay focused. She was so much more vulnerable that she knew, so much more fragile. He had to protect her, even from him. Her eyes raged at him and she stormed off.

She was angry at him. Of course she was, he'd let her down before and now he had been too forward with her after he had promised he wouldn't. He felt his chest tighten and a sharp pain started in its center. He thought for a moment he was really having a heart attack. No wonder they call it a broken heart, it feels like it! He hated himself, he wanted her to trust him, after all she'd been through, he had wanted to show her that people aren't like that. He'd handed her to Kenton. She and Hodgins had done more to save themselves from the Gravedigger than he had. She managed to save **him** though. The one measly bullet he had managed to step in front of was nothing compared to a few days later when Zach broke her heart. He should have taken better care of Zach for her, should have been watching out for her better. Her dad, Russ, she saved them too. What good was he? Booth drew only shallow breaths as he climbed into the SUV. He didn't remember seeing the road, or driving home, or getting into bed. He'd let her down.

Brennan walked quickly through the lab hoping to avoid contact with anyone. To her surprise and relief, Angela seemed to be wrapped up in something in her office and hadn't noticed Brennan. She documented and sealed the bone fragments and put them away for tomorrow. She felt weary, heavy and was fighting tears. She retreated to her car as the tears started to spill from her eyes. Angela and Cam were trying hard to avoid her hoping she would go to dinner with Booth instead. Neither of them noticed her distress.

Fitful sleep was all either of the partners could get. Each of them berating themselves, hurting because they refused to talk to other. Brennan comforted herself by resolving to show Booth just how little she needed him. Booth, in turn, vowed that he would show her he was a man of his word and that she could lean on him, and trust him.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Brennan breezed into the lab early in the morning ready to get to work, feeling confident she had properly compartmentalized her feelings. She donned her lab coat and walked to the platform. She laid out the bone fragments and began examining each carefully with the benefit of proper magnification and imaging. It wasn't until Wendell, Hodgins and Angela called hello as they came in for the day that Brennan realized her back was stiff. She stretched and went to get some coffee. She passed Cam on the way back to the platform.

"Cam, we have a couple of fragments that may yield DNA. I'll have Wendell bring them to you."

"Okay. I'll see what I can get." The lab started its usual buzz of activity and Brennan found it comforting. She and Wendell were able to identify which bone most of the fragments were from but there wasn't enough material to try to reconstruct anything. There weren't any duplicates making it possible that all of the bones came from the same person. There wasn't enough bone to bear any marks that would indicate a murder weapon. The bones were smooth and soft. Acid had dissolved them for the most part and the sand had polished them smooth. Unless Cam could get some DNA, it was unlikely that they could definitively identify these remains.

Hodgins was analyzing the chemical composition of the sand found with the bones and was running an elemental analysis on the bone fragments to see if they could at least match them as part of the same person. Brennan was frustrated. She stared at all that was left of some person, she should be able to help this person, give him/her back his/her identity. She examined each fragment, hoping that some small detail would jump out at her and help. Angela had dragged Brennan to her office for a quick lunch and some gossip about Hodgins but thankfully, didn't mention Booth. That was kind of odd actually, but Brennan decided she was better with odd than with talking about him.

It was late afternoon when Cam said she had some preliminary DNA results. Cam had already called Booth freeing Brennan from that task. Cam was explaining her findings when Booth sauntered in.

"The DNA is pretty damaged. I don't know if we'll be able to get a strong enough sample to analyze and even then it will be so small that it will be consumed in the analysis making it of little value in a trial. It is male and not inconsistent with Robert Newton but much of it is fragmented."

"So we do have a DNA match?" Booth asked.

"Not exactly, we don't **not** have a DNA match." Wendell tried to explain. "We can't rule him out but we can't say for certain that it is him." He shot Booth a weak smile. Nobody liked half an answer, the whole team was frustrated. They thoughtfully stared at the monitor for a minute as if it was suddenly going to tell them more.

"I'll keep trying but I think you're going to need a confession on this one Seeley." Cam smiled supportively and walked back to her office. It was another minute of silent staring before Hodgins bounded gleefully up the stairs.

"Elemental analysis of the bone fragments would indicate that they are all from someone raised in Virginia near where the fragments were found."

"So they could be from the same person, but you can't say for sure." Booth's growing frustration was evident in his voice. "We have bones that may or may not be from the same person, that person may or may not be Robert Newton and he may or may not have been murdered." Brennan stole a quick glance at his face, she felt even worse that she couldn't provide answers.

"Hold on there big guy, this person was disposed of. I found high concentrations of carbon, sulfur and nitrogen in the sand along with an extremely high concentration of chloride ion." There was a collective "oh". Booth looked at each of them waiting for an explanation but since they offered none he was forced to ask.

"Um, what does that mean?"

"It means that these remains were dissolved in highly concentrated hydrochloric acid and the acid and dissolved remains were poured into the sand pit." Wendell explained.

"That doesn't explain why the remains were so far down in the sand, though." Brennan commented, looking thoughtfully at the bone fragments. Booth felt his resolve weakening. _She looks so beautiful when she is thinking that hard. Stop it! Focus! _Booth tried to focus on the sand pit.

"So what if the killer..." Booth started.

"We don't know if he was killed." Brennan corrected.

"...dug deep into the sand," Booth ignored her.

"..dumped the acid," Wendell offered.

"...and then refilled the pit." Hodgins finished.

"That would explain why there was enough movement and friction by the sand to polish the remaining bone fragments." Brennan said.

"The killer probably didn't realize there was still a little bone left. I bet the scientists in that commune have pure hydrochloric acid." Booth wiggled his eyebrows at Angela.

"They wouldn't have it just lying around. Someone had to make this. But any well-stocked lab would have the resources to make enough to do this." Hodgins explained. "There won't be any evidence left over, it would be an easy clean up."

"But there would be traces of blood from an actual murder?" Booth said, thinking out loud.

"We don't know that the victim was murdered." Brennan said.

"Come on Bones, why dispose of a body unless you murdered them?"

"We've seen stranger things." Brennan quipped. "There wouldn't necessarily be blood evidence, the 'killer' if that's what we're going with, could just have delivered an organic poison or even just something to render the victim unconscious."

"Yeah, didn't think of that." Booth said. _See, distracted, bad bad bad._

"Ick! I hate this job!" Angela walked back to her office unable to listen to anymore about the depths of human depravity. Cam rejoined them with a small shake of her head indicating there wasn't much more she could do.

"I need to question Mr. Newton's ex-wife and see what we can find. Let's go Bones." The sentence was out of his mouth before he had thought it. It was what he always said, it was unconscious. He tried to glance unnoticed at her but everyone was looking at him.

"I think I should stay here and see if there is anything else I can get from the bone fragments." Booth noticed her voice sounded smaller than usual.

"Dr. Brennan, these are scientists, you will need to translate. Booth will need your help." She wasn't letting those two pull away now. Embarrassing couch moment or not. Brennan looked wistfully at the remains and then with a slight nod walked to her office. Booth entered tentatively behind her and waited patiently for her to remove her lab coat. The comfortable banter and his usual help with her jacket was coldly missing as each of the partners desperately tried to avoid having any emotions. After an eternity she quietly walked past him, careful to avoid contact, and out the office door. The small of her back felt cold as they walked silently to his SUV.

They tried to pepper the excruciating drive with small talk but neither could say much more than a few words. They should be arguing about the value of motive and whether Robert Newton was as accepting of his ex-wife's new husband as Dr. Benjamin claimed. That should be leading to an argument about monogamy but the arguments they should be having and all the things they should be saying to each other hung in the air like a dense fog. It was stifling.

Booth tried to think of what he wanted to know from Robert Newton's ex-wife but the smell of Brennan's shampoo and her perfume kept him from completing a single thought. Brennan was trying to mentally examine the bone fragments from memory but Booth's face and that stupid charm smile of his kept pushing out the fragments. Brennan kept her face to the window, the tears that threatened were difficult to blink away. Booth glanced at her, wishing once again that he were the man he should be. He caught a glimpse of her tears. His stomach lurched and the stabbing pain returned to his chest, causing him to gasp.

"Booth, are you okay?" The concern painted on her face. Her tear-filled eyes moved to the hand that had reflexively clutched his chest. "Booth, what's wrong?" He didn't know how to answer her, he couldn't tell her what was wrong. How could he tell her that the tears in her eyes broke his heart, that swallowing guilt was physically painful?

"I'm fine, its just heartburn from breakfast. You don't have an antacid on you by chance?" He smiled weakly.

"Booth, chest pain is serious and should not be ignored." He was going to have to smile better than that or he was going to end up in the ER. He took a deep breath and tried a patented Booth-smile. It fell far short of its usual brilliance but he hoped it would be enough. Her breath caught in her throat and a tear spilled unwillingly. It was a pale smile, but it was still breathtaking.

"Hey, hey." he said as he pulled the SUV over, "I'm okay. Its okay." He pulled her into a hug before he realized what was happening. _As angry as she is at me, she's still worried about me. I am a louse. _ Booth cursed himself. _No, no, you don't want this, you don't need this. Sit up!_ Brennan told herself. Brennan's shoulders shook lightly and then she inhaled sharply and sat up.

"Are you sure you are okay to drive?" Brennan asked quietly, wiping her eyes.

"Nice try. I'm fine, and I'm still driving." Booth hoped he sounded as calm and happy as he meant to. Booth pulled back onto the roadway and continued the drive. Brennan glanced nervously at him, careful not to look at his face. Booth tried to engage her in small talk. They each tried to relax a bit with the futile hope that things were returning to "normal".

They drove through the commune, past the labs, and into a residential section with houses. After checking the address, they arrived at the home of Judy Benjamin, Robert Newton's ex-wife. It was a modest house, one floor with a small front stoop. The siding was white with dark blue trim pieces. There were flower boxes under the front windows and a neatly trimmed yard complete with the white picket fence. Brennan though it looked charming and tried not to imagine Booth wrestling with Parker on that lawn. Her stomach turned a bit as she thought, _this is what Booth wants, what I can't give him_. Her breath caught again as his hand went to the small of her back and he ushered her toward the door.

An attractive woman of about 50 with a warm smile greeted them at the door. She graciously welcomed them in before they could introduce themselves.

"Would you like something to drink? The drive from D.C. is a bit of a stretch, would you like to freshen up?" She smiled pleasantly gesturing toward a hallway leading to what they assumed would be a bathroom.

"Thank you, no. I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth and this is my partner Dr. Temperance Brennan." Booth was a little off his usual stride at her hospitality but he quickly recovered.

"Yes, yes, you are here to ask about Robert. Doug told me about the lovely couple from the FBI that had come to talk to him. He said you would be by after you had some time with the sand pit. Please sit down. I'll be right back with some lemonade." She strode happily into her kitchen while Booth took a seat on the couch and Brennan sat in an armchair. Mrs. Benjamin returned with a tray and set it on the coffee table, taking the armchair opposite Brennan. She handed them each a glass and waited for Booth to ask her a question.

"Mrs. Benjamin, how long were you married to Mr. Newton?"

"Call me Judy, and its Dr. Newton, he was a particle physicist with three PhDs."

"We didn't know he was a scientist, why hasn't any body mentioned that before?" Brennan asked.

"Robert wasn't a scientist anymore. He loved science but he couldn't stand the struggle for funding and the squabbles with other scientists over who should get credit for what. We were married for seventeen years. We divorced two years ago and I married Doug three months ago."

"Mrs. Benjamin, Judy," Booth flashed her a warm smile, "Dr. Benjamin has indicated that your divorce was..."

"Amiable" Brennan offered.

"...amiable." Booth looked at her. "After seventeen years together, he wasn't upset at you remarrying?"

"I know its difficult to understand. Robert and I didn't view marriage in the typical sense. We were against it as an archaic institution when we were young. We loved each other and that was all that mattered. He finished his last doctorate in 1954, there were strong financial and legal benefits to being married and living together absent of marriage was a cultural taboo. We relented, promising each other that it was not a bond of ownership or possession but a promise to always be partners and equals and to live our lives together. Over the years, our romantic love for each other took a back seat to the love and respect we had as colleagues and friends. I always wondered what would have been if we had been friends first and lovers second but that was not how it was. Three years ago I started working in Doug's lab and found that I felt a romantic spark for him. I was distraught. I didn't want to hurt my husband, he is, was, the best friend I've ever had. Out of the deepest respect, I talked to him and he told me that he was quite happy to divorce me if I had romantic feelings for Doug." Judy's eyes became moist and she swallowed hard. "He said that the promise we made was forever and even divorced, he would always be my partner and friend." Brennan and Booth sat quietly allowing the woman to compose herself. "I'm in love with Doug, but I've never had a friend like Robert."

"I'm sorry to have to ask this, but are you sure there was no jealousy or conflict between your current and ex husbands?"

"What rational reason would there be for jealousy? Jealousy is an instinctual response designed to protect a procreative relationship when there is a limited number of potential mates. Robert and I are past our procreative prime and in the absence of the hormonal response that accompanies a romantic relationship there would be no jealousy." Brennan nodded appreciatively, the explanation satisfied her.

"I'm sorry about having to be indelicate, but may I ask about alimony?"

"Why would that be indelicate? You need to understand our relationship in order to determine the kind of person Robert was and who may have wanted to harm him. I left him the money and the house save for my clothes and a few keepsakes. I make sufficient income, as does Doug, that I have no need of Robert's savings. I remain as the sole beneficiary of his estate, though as I said, I have no need of it."

"Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt Robert?" Booth asked.

"No, no one. James was agitated with him over an experiment and I think Katie owed him some money, those are customary motives, but neither of them would hurt him. Its hard to imagine such an irrational act as murder in our little town. There would be nothing to be gained from Robert's murder."

"We don't know that..." Brennan started. Booth shifted and silenced her with a look.

"I assume that you haven't confirmed whether the remains found were Robert's or not? I understand, please let me know what you find."

"Uh, thank you for taking the time to speak with us, the lemonade was delicious, we will be in touch soon." Booth and Brennan walked to the SUV and climbed in.

"Well that was very...rational." Booth said glancing nervously at Brennan.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Judy Benjamin had given them the contact information for Dr. Katherine Lauren and Dr. James Sullivan. Brennan's phone rang before they had even buckled their seatbelts.

"Brennan."

"_Hey Sweetie, how'd it go with the ex-wife?_"

"They were good friends Ange. I think that Dr. Benjamin was right."

"A little too good. They were married for seventeen years and just divorced like it was no big deal. You and Hodgins didn't break up that well and you are squints."

"_Nice Booth, thanks. You know, after seventeen years, maybe the spark was gone. Speaking of sparks..._"

"Ange," Brennan said desperately, "We are going to go and talk to the Biochemist that Mrs. Benjamin said owed him some money."

"_Booth, have you ever talked to a Biochemist?_"

"No, but I work with you guys. I'll grant you, this is like, Squint World, but I can talk to you guys okay."

"_Booth, we like you, we talk to you. You should ask Agent Perotta how easy we are to work with. Imagine Brennan at her most neurotic..._"

"Hey!"

"_...now multiply that ten times or more. She has to talk to people, they never do. Many of them are mostly normal but you are talking about scientists who only live and work with other scientists. You might actually want Brennan to ask the questions. Good lu-uck._"

"She said I should lead the investigation." Brennan grinned.

"No, she said that you should ask the questions. She's never seen you in action though. If you have a question, let me know what it is first and then ask it, okay." Brennan's eyes were on fire again. She was really insulted. Usually he could get away with such a bold statement and while she would be a little miffed, he could smile and throw her a compliment and she would be fine. Not this time, he began to fear for his life.

"If you don't think you need me then I'll just head to the anatomy labs and relax for the rest of the day, or hire and car and go back to the remains."

"Its not that. Look, I'm sorry, that's not how I meant it. I have a series of questions in my head. They lead the person we are talking to through certain logic so that they give me information they don't mean to and I can catch them in lies."

"Like a debate cross examination. Why didn't you ever say that? It doesn't look like it when you do it. You seem to be able to guess what they are going to say but it is because you are leading them and using the information they give you to plan your next move. Why can't you just speak clearly? I get it. I don't know if I can read their minds like you do but Russ could never win a debate against me."

"I don't doubt that. I bet even your Dad had trouble winning debates against you."

"Not until I was thirteen, and then only occasionally."

"Look, I want you there. Cam's right, I may need you to translate, I may need to call Wendell to translate for you, but I have a better chance of solving this if you are with me." Brennan instinctively knew a smile was coming, she forced herself not to look.

"Fine, but if you shush me again, I'm leaving." She wouldn't meet his gaze, not so normal after all. _Good going, you betray her, you let her down and now you hurl insults at her, what a guy!_ They drove the last few blocks in silence.

"Virology Lab is through here." Brennan said as they worked through another maze of labs. They rounded a corner and Booth nearly knocked Dr. Shannon over.

"Well, if it isn't my two favorite investigators! Hello!" Dr. Shannon's smile beamed and Brennan was reminded how very much he looked like her father.

"Hello Dr. Shannon. We were just looking for the Virology lab." Brennan said cheerfully. Booth looked miserable. He forced a weak smile.

"You must be looking for Katie, two labs down that way."

"How did you know we were looking for Dr. Lauren?" Booth asked. Brennan looked at Booth incredulously.

"Well, Special Agent Booth, its obvious. She owed Robert Newton a little bit of money. There still isn't anyone else missing and Mr. Newton hasn't returned. No one had any real reason to harm Robert so you must check every lead, no matter how weak. I'm sure she's expecting you. Its a small community, news spreads quickly."

"Well, uh, thank you Dr. Shannon." Booth put his hand on the small of Brennan's back and pushed her toward the Virology Lab. They were almost there before Booth realized what he'd done and prepared to lose his arm. He stopped pushing and she turned to him. He stepped back and braced for an attack. His subconscious movement was endearing and it demonstrated a certain respect for her skill. Brennan decided a dirty look would suffice. She looked quickly away not wanting to see his face in the event of his puppy dog eyes, or a Booth grin.

A young, fierce looking woman with blonde hair tied into a loose ponytail met them at the entrance to the Virology lab.

"I'm Dr. Katherine Lauren. You are Dr. Temperance Brennan and Agent Booth. You are here to talk about the money I owed Robert Newton. Let us step into the lounge. We have a clean lab." Booth raised his eyebrow in question and Brennan explained.

"Dr. Benjamin said that they were working with rhinovirus. That's the common cold. It is likely that we are carrying several species of rhinovirus on our clothing now and brining it into the lab could compromise their research."

"Dr. Lauren, how is it you knew we were coming?" Booth asked. He looked worried, everybody seemed to know what he was going to do and say. They all said it was obvious and he was starting to feel out of step.

"Judy called me and said you might be stopping by. My lab is before the Medical labs so it seemed prudent to scrub out."

"What can you tell us about Robert Newton?" Brennan decided to take control before Dr. Lauren got impatient.

"Robert was a kind man. He always said that subatomic particles were his god and science his religion. We made a bet that I couldn't sequence the rhinovirus code faster than it could mutate. I lost. I owed him three-hundred dollars and we agreed that I would pay him next weekend if I hadn't outpaced the mutation rate. We can get a sequence to the vaccine lab in two days but we are still behind the mutation rate."

"Everybody tells us how small this community is, how well did you know Robert?" Brennan asked. Booth was stunned, that was a good question.

"He was a quiet man. He didn't volunteer personal information. He made people around him feel like comrades and friends. We called him our Mediator because if you couldn't resolve a disagreement quickly, he was capable of negotiating an agreement within a few minutes."

"Are there many disagreements around here?" Booth asked.

"No, only rarely. Except for the alternative fuel researchers, they get a bit territorial now and then."

"Do you know who uses highly concentrated inorganic acids regularly?"

"What an interesting question. Do you think acids were used in Robert's murder?"

"No, we found high concentrations of certain ions in the surrounding soil and we were hoping that the people using acids may have seen something."

Booth tried to swallow, exhale and inhale all at the same time, he started coughing. Brennan had just lied, well.

"Oh, well, I would guess some of the alternative fuel researchers are trying different acids for batteries and you can try the Inorganic Chemistry labs, of course. I think every lab has a little hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid and glacial acetic acid around somewhere but only in the usual concentrations. I prefer the weak ones myself." Dr. Lauren winked at Brennan and they shared a chuckle. Booth just stared.

"Thank you for scrubbing out to talk to us today Dr. Lauren." Brennan stood and shook the woman's hand.

"It was a pleasure Dr. Brennan. I enjoy your books. Would you mind if we extend you an invitation to come speak at our Mole Day Festival this year?"

"No, that would be lovely. Please email me the details." Brennan handed Dr. Lauren a business card and they shook hands warmly again.

"It was nice to meet you too Agent Booth." Dr. Lauren shook his hand and went back to her lab. Booth turned to Bones with a look of admiration.

"Bones, you put her at ease and asked focused and poignant questions! That was great!" Booth was grinning the first genuine smile he had smiled in two days.

"While I am annoyed that your comment implies that I am not capable of adequately questioning someone, I am flattered at your tone. I have a steep learning curve and the people here are easier to understand than most of the people we talk to." Brennan decided that he was being nice and smiled as they walked back to the SUV.

"Okay, I have to ask. What was she talking about with the weaker ones, and what is Mole Day." Booth asked as they started toward the medical building.

"Biologists work more often with weaker organic acids over the stronger inorganic ones. She's a Biochemist so she was just making a joke. A mole is a unit of measure that indicates there are the same number of units of a pure substance as there are atoms in twelve grams of carbon-12. A mole of one element has the same number of atoms and a mole of another element it is useful because it allows us to calculate the mass required of a particular substance..." Booth looked utterly confused. "...um, okay, its a chemistry thing. It has to do with Avogadro's number which is 6.02x10e23. So every year on October twenty-third, many scientists celebrate Mole Day from 6:02am to 6:02pm."

"You have squint holidays? That's funny. Squint jokes, squint religions and now squint holidays. You have, like, a whole different culture don't you?" Booth was laughing.

"Squint religion, what is that supposed to mean?"

"You referred to yourself as an empiricist, Dr. Lauren said that Dr. Newton always said subatomic particles were his god. So you have different squint religions."

"Not exactly. She said science was his religion. What he meant was the idea that we exchange subatomic particles with our environment, the air, things we touch, et cetera. Some scientists believe that what humans experience as god is actually the sensation of exchanging material with our universe, giving us a feeling of being connected. Its romantic and completely unfounded. Its one way that scientists who have grown up with strong religious beliefs can rectify the rational science with deeply ingrained beliefs."

"You told me once that you cannot separate the victims we help from yourself because we all share humanity. I've seen you show the same compassion for animals and even plants. You don't think that its possible that we share something more than what science has currently identified? That these subatomic particles could really be what give us the feeling of connection?"

"Booth, do you realize that that would mean the religion you believe in was false?"

"I don't necessarily believe in everything that the Church says, but I feel a connection to people, and to God. If it is these subatomic particles, it would still mean that we exist together and have a real connection to each other. I can accept that. You didn't answer my question. Isn't it possible?"

"Well, Booth, in an infinite universe..."

"Bones."

"Yes, Booth, it is. It is completely unfounded, but it is possible."

The medical lab was linear and ordered and looked much like a hospital. There was a large sign listing all of the rooms and the lead researcher for each project. Next to it was a map and the hallway had prominent markings.

"It should be much easier to find Dr. Sullivan than it was to find anything in the other labs."

"Probably because the other labs were built to emphasize function and maximize efficient use of the space. This is meant for visitors to find their way through in order to participate in research." Brennan was already striding down a hallway and Booth was forced to jog along to catch up.

"Do you think anyone has had a motive to kill Robert Newton?"

"We don't know if Robert Newton is dead and we don't know if the remains we found were his."

"I know Bones, just go with it for a minute. Do you think anyone we've met so far has a motive?"

"You know I don't like psychology, but no, I don't think anyone has a good enough reason to have killed Robert Newton."

"Bones, are you serious?" Booth had caught up with her. "We have someone who owes him money, someone who believes he was unfairly treated by a figure with no real authority only perceived authority and an ex-wife who is the sole beneficiary of the alleged victim's estate. We've seen people murder for less."

"None of those people had any rational reason to kill him, they wouldn't gain anything by killing Dr. Newton. Dr. Wickman said it, no net gain, no motive." Booth just shook his head.

They entered a large brightly lit room with two large recliners and a compliment of monitors and equipment. No one was in the room but a door to an office was open on the other side. They crossed the room, Brennan nodded to one wall.

"EEG" She whispered. She had leaned close to Booth's ear and he could feel her breath on his cheek. He closed his eyes trying to remain in control. His spine tingled and his cheek stung. He froze, willing himself not to touch his cheek. _Booth! You are walking in to talk to someone who may have killed and dissolved a fellow scientist. Next to you is your beautiful scientist and you are distracted by __a whisper! You are going to get her killed!_ Booth shuddered and took a deep breath. He opened his eyes to find her looking at him, she was worried again. His stomach dropped and he fought the impulse to touch her. He smiled at her and walked toward the office. Brennan watched him walk by her and studied his gait, how he held his shoulders. He didn't look injured or in pain but he was behaving strangely. Shuddering, stopping suddenly, clutching his chest, he wouldn't leave until they got through this interview, but then, hospital.

Booth paused at the doorway of the office, "Excuse me, Dr. Sullivan?"

"Yes? Come in." Dr. Sullivan was a very thin man with graying hair. When he stood to shake their hands they could see he was a very tall man. His face revealed no emotion. He was not unpleasant, he was calm but cold.

"I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth and this is my partner Dr. Temperance Brennan from the Jeffersonian. We'd like to ask you some questions."

"Yes, of course. I assume this is about Robert Newton?"

"Yes..." Booth started.

"I assume you've been told that I had an argument with Mr. Newton shortly before his disappearance." Dr. Sullivan cut Booth off. Brennan could see that Dr. Sullivan was trying to establish dominance. _Booth should interrupt or ask a pointed question rather than allowing Dr. Sullivan to finish. He's good at this but he's missing this opportunity._

"Dr. Sullivan," Brennan said with her teaching voice, "please tell us why you and Mr. Newton were arguing."

"Mr. Newton had been participating in some research of mine and he wanted to end his participation. I was trying to convince him not to."

"Because it would compromise your results." Booth offered.

"Yes, I'm trying to map the brainwave pattern differences between different dreams. I'm hoping that tracking the EEG during a nightmare can lead us eventually to understanding the difference between nightmares, dreams and night terrors. More keys to unlock the brain." Booth noticed that his tone was almost proud.

"Did Mr. Newton have many nightmares?" Booth asked.

"No, none at all." Booth looked confused. Brennan leaned in to his ear.

"Control group." _Here we go again, focus. _Booth thought to himself.

"Did you and he know each other outside of the research?"

"No. It is a small community and I knew of him but I don't think we'd ever even talked before I approached him to participate in my research."

"Did you place some sort of advertisement to get participants? Did he volunteer?"

"No, I approached doctors and psychologists in nearby towns looking for people who complained of nightmares and approached a number of people at random. If I place an ad, I get a lot of people who have insomnia and want free treatment. Stopping people on the street and in malls or department stores, I'm more likely to find a random sampling."

"B..." Brennan started.

"So you approached Mr. Newton on the street one day?" Booth glanced quickly at Brennan, he hadn't meant to interrupt but she had allowed him to ask his question. Booth raised his eyebrow slightly to thank her.

"Yes, I was walking around outside the physics labs asking for participants."

"Short of the referrals from area physicians, how much of your sampling is done from Walden?"

"For this research, I did ask quite a few people from around here. It is easier for them to come in for overnight monitoring. We don't have a hotel as it were. We keep a few rooms in a few houses prepared for out-of-town participants and the occasional guest speaker. I need to record many nights with each participant so the limited space can make for difficulties in accommodations. I was getting ready to try a new phase of the research, inducing nightmares in people who did not have them frequently."

"And Mr. Newton didn't want to have nightmares?" Booth prompted.

"We'd been trying for several weeks to induce a nightmare but he hadn't had any. He was bored with the process and wanted out. I tried to persuade him to continue a little longer but he refused and I never saw him again."

"How did you intend to induce nightmares?" Brennan asked shifting forward in her seat.

"Horror stories and movies mostly. That prompted most of the participants to have at least one nightmare."

"You said mostly, what else did you try?" Brennan had the same look as she did when she found some particularly intriguing mark on a bone.

"It was just a figure of speech. Although I've had many people suggest spicy food." Dr. Sullivan met her eyes. Brennan wished she could read what was behind them the way Booth could.

"On his personal information, who is listed as his next of kin?" Brennan asked.

"His ex-wife, Judy Benjamin. She called me to ask me if I had seen him when they found him missing."

"...found him missing..." Brennan stifled a giggle. Dr. Sullivan's face broke into a smile and he started laughing. Booth looked at Brennan and they started laughing.

"Thank you Dr. Sullivan." Brennan said, laughter still in her voice.

"Of course. Good luck, I do hope you find him." Dr. Sullivan's face was again blank and expressionless. They walked back through the lab.

"This place seems pretty deserted." Booth commented, looking around.

"It is almost 7pm. I'm sure everyone has gone home or is in back rooms working. This late, there aren't people coming in and out for testing and research. This isn't a working hospital."

"Mm." Booth nodded. Brennan watched him out of the corner of her eye, trying to gauge whether to let him drive. He had that look, like he doesn't know where to go with the case and he'd frustrated by it.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

They were five minutes outside of the commune when Booth finally spoke. "So, we have pieces of bone from what may be one person that have been dissolved in acid and dumped in a sand pit. The only person missing from a strange commune of scientists near the dump site is a bang-up guy that everyone loves."

"We don't know that he was beaten up Booth, we don't even know if it was him."

"Huh? Oh, bang-up. No, it means he was a good guy."

"I'd like to talk to Cam and Hodgins and then talk to Dr. Sullivan again."

"What? Why?"

"He's a bad researcher Booth. He arranges for subjects known to have nightmares, that's understandable but he picks his supposed control group from a pool of people that don't live lives similar to those of his subject group. He **chooses** his control group from people on the street. That seems like it would be random but humans subconsciously choose people based on certain behaviors, friendliness, willingness to meet your eye, having similar ethnic characteristics. He should have hired multiple assistants to recruit people."

"You said that these people weren't considered the top in their field."

"Its more than that, Booth. I don't know."

"Bones! Do you have a hunch?"

"No, its not a hunch."

"Why would he kill Robert Newton? If he didn't want him to leave because it would interrupt his research, why would he kill him?"

"You're right. It isn't rational." Her brow was still furrowed. His explanation didn't satisfy her. Booth thought the guy felt a little cold, but he'd met a few scientists and they were always harder to read. His partner, however, was easy, she had a hunch. He figured it was nothing but he knew that showing faith in his partner was critical.

"You know, Bones, I'd still like to see the records regarding that research. I'll talk to Caroline in the morning and see about getting a warrant to look around that lab and see those records." Brennan's face relaxed and she sat back in her seat. A few minutes passed in comfortable silence, a welcome relief from the tension of the day.

"I think I would have liked Robert Newton." Brennan said quietly.

"Really? What makes you say that?"

"He was rational, kind, loving. He understood that love was biochemical but loved that woman anyway. I think he would have been a lot like my father."

Booth replayed what she had said, _loved that woman anyway. Maybe what Judy Benjamin had said would open her mind to falling in love with someone. That would be good for her. No, no it wouldn't. She'd get hurt. You're the only one who understands how vulnerable she is...Booth! Stop!_

"I think you're right." was all Booth could manage.

_'It was not a bond of ownership or possession but a promise to always be partners and equals and to live our lives together' that is an interesting take on marriage. Its not what Booth wants though. Where'd that come from? Stop Temperance, don't do this!_ Brennan remembered her mom and dad when she was little. They were happy and in love. She thought of how they would give each other a little peck on the cheek when they were near. Her mind drifted to the video her mother made her. She thought of how much it must have hurt them to leave. The only way to avoid that kind of pain is not to love. She loved Zach, not romantically, but like a little brother. Booth had loved Rebecca, she knew how much it broke his heart to take Parker back to his mother and then not get to see him for days. She didn't want to hurt him too. Being partners was different, she could keep an eye on him. She couldn't love him, she just couldn't, if she did, she would lose everything. She'd gone through that once, it wasn't going to happen again.

Her eyes had become moist at the thought of her mother. Booth placed his hand on hers.

"Thinking of your mom?" He asked, his eyes caring and sympathetic.

"Yeah." She wondered how he'd guessed.

"We're in D.C."

"Already? I was just remembering."

"Let's go get something to eat."

"Can we run by my office, my cell phone charger in on my desk."

"Sure." Booth drove to her office without moving his hand. He opened her door for her and offered his hand as she climbed out of the SUV. She stumbled slightly and he caught her. She looked up at him. He quickly set her on her feet and released her. It was too dangerous to be that close. She still looked a little sad and Booth was having trouble breathing deeply. He just wanted to hug her and make her stop hurting. She looked so vulnerable standing there, so alone. _Ah hell,_ he thought pulling her into a hug. He let his head come down and his chin touch her shoulder. He tried to speak but there was nothing to say.

She felt the muscles of his chest move as he held her close. She wasn't thinking about her mother anymore. She was waging a war inside, what Booth called brain and heart. Just when she'd resolved herself not to love him, he decides she needs a hug. She steeled herself against his warmth, his scent, the way his arms held her. _This is NOT going to happen!_ she told herself. Finally, he released her and stood up. He didn't move his hands from her upper arms, he just held her at arms length. She met his gaze. _Damn it!_ they thought in unison, not knowing the other's torment. The sadness in her eyes was gone, it had been replaced with longing and...fear. She thought he was going to cross the line again. _Booth, you suck!_ he scolded himself, immediately letting her go and turning away. He didn't see her face fall. He didn't see her eyes flash with rejection, pain, anger like a slide show. He didn't see her set her jaw, and square her shoulders. He didn't see her eyes go dark.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Brennan walked quickly into her office and looked through her inbox. Booth followed her and stood just inside the door. She sat down to work on the computer.

"No you don't. We are going to get something to eat." Booth walked to her and turned her chair. "Cell phone charger." He commanded playfully.

"Booth, I am checking my messages." She said coldly. She attempted to turn her chair back.

"No way, you are coming to get food. You haven't eaten for hours." Booth tried his best smile complete with an eyebrow wiggle.

"I am not Parker, you are not going to tell me what to do." Her voice was strained and angry. She stood up forcing Booth to take a step back. "You storm in here announcing my schedule for the week, you drag me to interview people and don't want me to speak, you announce when I should eat, when I should sleep. I am a world famous forensic anthropologist and I work for the Jeffersonian! Not for the FBI and NOT FOR YOU!"

She stepped toward him but instead of stepping back he grabbed her and pulled her in pressing his lips to hers. He held her close though his grip softened. He parted his lips slightly and she deepened the kiss. He reveled in the kiss, feeling her, smelling her, tasting her. She responded, relaxing into him, her arms reaching around his ribs. He released her arms and brought his hand to her face holding her gently and rubbing her cheek with his thumb. He could feel tears on his cheeks, he wanted to look in her eyes but he didn't want to stop.

They held the kiss until their lungs screamed to breathe. Finally they broke apart, panting. She didn't meet his eyes. His hands still tenderly held her face and he lifted her face up to look at him. He tilted her face up to see her crying. She wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Bones, I..." She pulled away and ran from her office. He turned to see her brush past a man standing there. Max.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Booth?" Max said. Booth started after Brennan but Max stopped him, "We need to talk."

"No, Bones..." Max put his hand up gently but firmly pushing on Booth's chest.

"Sit." Booth sighed and slumped his shoulders, walking around the couch and taking a seat.

"Please go after her. She's upset. I crossed the line. Max, I hurt her. Please go take care of her."

"We both know she's down in Limbo staring at a skeleton. She doesn't like to lose control, she wants and needs time to compose herself. Her purse is right there, she's not going anywhere."

"She shouldn't be hurting..."

"Booth! Shut up! We are going to talk about you; you and your ridiculous line." Booth looked at him helpless, in desperation. "Now you listen to me. I left my kids, Russ was only barely a man, Tempe was still a young girl, because I thought that being close to me was going to get them killed."

"You were right."

"No, I wasn't. There were other ways to keep them safe but I reacted out of fear and desperation. I dragged my wife away from our kids. I broke four hearts and ruined four lives not just that day but over and over again with my choices. It didn't matter, I lost my wife anyway and in the end, the little girl we left behind saved us all. This line you've drawn has become the stuff of legend around here. You really think that you can keep her safer by denying what you feel, somehow you will be more objective? Are you objective now? Is she here where you can protect her? What exactly is your line preserving?"

"I have let Bones down over and over again. She is my responsibility, I took into the field to chase psychopaths and they take her and I let them. I nearly killed Cam because she acted against her judgment at my request. Your daughter has trusted me with her life, she trusts me. We talked to someone today that reminded her of Christine, she was sad, I wanted her to feel better, I hugged her. We got into the office and she was mad. I don't know what happened, I took advantage of her. Max, I'm so sorry."

"Booth, she was kissing you back. She's fighting her feelings for you. Probably because she was abandoned by me. You need to tell her what you're thinking, how you feel. Even if you want to keep your distance and have your stupid line, you need to talk to her."

"She isn't like you and me, I can't just say things to her. I'll say it wrong, she'll get confused and she'll be hurt. How can anyone be okay with, 'I love you but...'"

"Booth, you know her better than anyone, better than I do, maybe even better than Angela does. Just talk to her. It won't hurt her to know you love her."

"Wait a minute, I never said..."

"Yes you did, Booth, now go say it again."

Booth walked into Bone Storage barely breathing. His eyes blinking back tears as he scanned the room for her. He walked in further and rounded a table to see her sitting on the floor against the far wall with a box on her lap and a femur in her hands.

"No, Booth, I don't want to do this." She said without looking up.

"I really need to talk to you."

"And say what? You're sorry. You shouldn't have. You didn't mean to. Okay, I understand."

"Bones...Temperance, I don't think you do." He was close enough to touch her but he sat down on the floor in front of her.

"You know what Booth, I'm a genius, I have a 'disturbingly steep learning curve', and I know you. I really do understand and I really don't need to do this. We are tense, frustrated by the case. Our biological urges got the better of us for a minute. You've been clear about the line. Let's just drop this."

"No."

"Booth..."

"No." The heavy silence was broken by Brennan's cell phone.

"Brennan" she answered, putting the femur back. "Okay, we're coming." Brennan stood up and returned the drawer to its place. Booth stood and waited for her to look at him.

"Bones, look at me."

"We have to go. Cam has something."

"Bones." She tried to walk by him but he put his hand gently on her arm. Tears threatened again but she swallowed them with the lump in her throat. She took a deep breath and then turned to him. Her eyes met his and he saw hurt.

"Okay, fine. I will not deny that you are a handsome and strong man and I feel a great attraction to you. You've made it clear that we are just partners, and I accept that, in fact, I agree with it. Before I met you, when I was in El Salvador, I was identifying the remains of a girl and I was captured. I felt helpless and weak and I vowed I wouldn't let that happen again. I have come to rely on you, and its making me weak. I knew when the Gravedigger had us that you would come for me. Maybe that helped me hang on longer, but I should have fought hard enough to get out on my own. I'm not the kind of woman you want, and I can't be a good partner if this is happening."

"What kind of woman do you think I want?"

"The kind that wants to marry you and have lots of babies and a big house like Judy's. Blonde, intuitive. Agent Perotta. It doesn't matter. No more touching, no more hugging, 'guy hugs' or otherwise, no more hand-holding, and no more catching. If I'm going to fall, you need to let me fall."

"Bones, I promised you I would never let you fall..."

"You will let me fall."

"Bones,"

"No, Booth, I can't love you the way you want." With a jerk, she freed her arm and stormed away from him. Booth stood there, his chest aching. _Booth, you really really suck!_


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Booth swiped his card and walked onto the platform.

"Where's Brennan?" Cam asked.

"Thought she was here." Booth said.

"I'm here. What is it Cam?" Brennan came up the other side. Angela looked from Booth to Brennan and back again.

"Hodgins found a petroleum-based EEG gel in the sand near the body."

"That is not surprising, he was participating in dream research requiring frequent EEGs."

"But it is something consistent with Robert Newton." Booth said. Brennan opened her mouth to speak but stopped as realization dawned.

"Cam, do you know anything about a Neurologist named James Sullivan?" Brennan asked.

"No, but I can check with a friend. I'll give him a call."

"Is there anything else, Hodgins?" Brennan asked. Booth thought she sounded tired.

"No, nothing." Hodgins said bitterly, clearly frustrated with the case.

"Everyone go home and get some rest. This is a frustrating case and its not going to be easier if we are overtired." Brennan ordered. She nodded definitively and left quickly for her office.

"Guess we're dismissed." Wendell said.

Brennan had her bag in her hand and her lab coat was hung neatly on the rack by the time Booth made it to her office.

"Goodnight Booth. Go home." She said as she brushed past him and left. Booth was about to follow her when his phone rang.

"Its Charlie, Caroline can get that warrant but you have to go with her. She'll meet you in your office in twenty minutes."

"Damn." Booth sighed as he headed to the Hoover Building.

Brennan had no sooner turned on music, poured a glass of wine and took off her shoes when she heard the knock at her door.

"Go home Booth!" She called.

"Its not Booth, baby."

"I don't want to talk about it Dad!"

"Let me in or I'll pick your lock."

"You have a key!"

"Oh, yeah." She heard the lock click and her Dad entered.

"I don't want to talk about it Dad." She repeated.

"I don't either. I want to talk about you."

"Liar."

"Tempe. I'm sorry that we left you."

"Dad, you've already told me this. I understand why."

"But you don't understand what I should have done. I ran because I thought you would be safer. I may have led the danger I created away from you but I left you to face all the rest of life alone. In that act, I taught you in no uncertain way that you couldn't rely on anyone but yourself. Its not something I intended to teach you, and its wrong."

"I know. I rely on my team, they have saved me more than once. I rely on Booth."

"That's good Tempe. Booth is a good FBI Agent. He's more than that you know."

"Dad."

"Temperance, its okay to love him. He will never let you down. He's a better man than I ever was. He really loves you."

"Its not like that. We're partners."

"You looked like more than partners this evening."

"We're just partners. It needs to stay that way. He's the kind of guy who wants a wife, kids, cute house with the white picket fence."

"And you don't?"

"Marriage is an archaic ritual to pass ownership of a woman from her father to her husband."

"Do you think I possessed your mother?"

"I was thinking about that today. Maybe you did, but you never treated her like that. You worshipped her." Brennan's eyes filled with tears and Max put his arm around her. They sat sharing the old grief.

"Temperance, all things evolve. Marriage may have meant that before but it doesn't mean that now. Its a partnership. You know something about partnerships. Talk to him."

"Dad."

"You can't avoid him, he's your partner." Max kissed her cheek, patted her knee and let himself out.

Booth arrived at the Jeffersonian at 8am the next morning. Brennan was in her office with Cam.

"Bones, I brought you breakfast. I stopped by your apartment but you weren't there. Which, I would have known if you would answer your cell phone. We got the warrant." Booth set the bag of food and a cup of coffee in front of Brennan but she moved them aside.

"DNA is inconclusive. Don't even have enough for a failure to exclude. And James Sullivan lost his license to practice medicine seven years ago." Cam said, eyeing the silent battle.

"Shady dealings?" Booth asked. He was now unwrapping a bagel and setting it in front of her.

"No, he just wasn't that good." Cam answered. "I guess the hospital paid one too many malpractice claims." She was trying not to laugh as Booth held the coffee over Brennan's keyboard. She finally took it and, as he stood up, set it aside.

"So he sucks at his job, why kill Newton?" Booth had smeared cream cheese on the bagel and was holding it close enough to Brennan's mouth that she couldn't speak. Cam could take no more.

"Just take it Dr. Brennan before I have to have him arrested for assault." Cam sighed. "What is the warrant for?"

"Bones has a hunch." Booth said proudly.

"I do not have a hunch. I just think that there may be something in the file that James Sullivan kept." Brennan had taken a small bite and was trying to subtly set the bagel down. Booth kept touching it as it got near the desk preventing her from placing it on the desk. Cam pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers.

"Eat up Bones, then we have to go execute this warrant."

"I just have to finish these emails. Could you go check and see if Hodgins has matched the brand of gel?"

"Sure thing." Booth said as he walked out of the office.

"What is going on?" Cam asked.

"Nothing, I had breakfast before I left this morning."

"Okay. When you get those notes, I'll take a look at them." Cam said as she left for her office. A few minutes later Brennan walked over to Hodgins and Booth.

"Anything?"

"No, its a common brand used by every hospital along the East Coast." Hodgins said.

"Ready to go?" Booth asked. Dr. Sweets walked up to them and nodded a silent hello.

"Yes. I asked Wendell and Dr. Sweets to come with us. I would like Wendell's help looking through the files and I think that Dr. Sweet's input when we question Dr. Sullivan again will be valuable. "

"That's great." Booth said. "Let's go." He allowed Dr. Sweets and Wendell to walk and stopped Brennan. "Chicken. We need to talk." He whispered.

"No we don't!" She whispered back as the walked toward the doors.

"We do."

"We don't." Dr. Sweets and Wendell turned to see if they were coming and Booth and Brennan continued the argument with furious scowls.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Sweets and Wendell tried to talk about the case but soon gave up when they could barely elicit a response from either Booth or Brennan. They would have exchanged looks but Booth kept checking the rearview mirror and they were too afraid. Brennan was looking through a file on her lap. Booth kept trying to glance into the file, every time he would try Brennan would lift the left side of the file to block his view. Finally he was driven to speak.

"Bones."

"Booth."

"I think we should talk about..."

"No." Brennan said quietly but definitively.

"The case, Bones, I want to talk about the case."

"There is nothing to discuss, I know what I need to see and need to ask."

"Yes, but Wendell and Sweets may not. Don't you think you should tell them?"

"They can't be objective if I tell them my hypothesis."

"Is there something we should maybe talk about?" Sweets asked.

"No!" came the unanimous answer. Wendell did not want to know what was going on, he just wanted to be back at the lab.

"There seems to be some unresolved tension that you two need to deal with."

"Sweets, if you ask me again I will shoot you." Booth said.

"Dr. Brennan, you seem upset about something. Is there anything you'd like to say."

"No, Dr. Sweets. I would like to look over the evidence."

"I thought you said you knew what you needed. It is interesting that you two aren't discussing the case, or arguing about the motive. Especially you, Dr. Brennan, you are usually more talkative." Booth pulled the SUV over. He turned in his seat to look at Sweets.

"Sweets, leave her alone!" he roared. "Bones, out!"

"No."

"Now."

"Fine!" They climbed out of the car. Booth glared at Sweets, communicating clearly that he should sit back and wait for them. Booth and Brennan met in front of the SUV. Sweets looked at Wendell.

"I'm going to roll down the window a little bit."

"Don't you dare!" Wendell said. "Booth was a sniper, he'll hear that seal break. Brennan is the best forensic anthropologist in the world. Booth will kill us and no one will ever find the bodies! Just sit there and stare at your knees." They looked down not daring to look up.

"Look Bones, I get that you don't want to talk about this right now. Fine, I respect that. I need you to look at me though."

"Booth, I need to focus." Booth glanced into the SUV and saw the two men trying not to look up. He gently grabbed Brennan's arm and ushered her to the back corner. He leaned with his right side against the window, shielding Brennan from view.

"Listen, we are going to search a lab where a psychopath may have melted a guy and poured him into a sand pit. I need you to look at me so I can communicate with you if the situation turns on us."

"Booth, I can take care of myself." Brennan met his gaze, her eyes were dark and angry. "I want to know who those bone fragments belong to , I want to catch whoever did this. That's all." She walked around him and got back into the SUV. Booth joined them without a word and began driving.

"So..." Sweets started.

"Tch!" Wendell barked. Turning to Wendell, Sweets raised his eyebrows.

"But..."

"Hup!"

"Wendell, I have more than one doctorate..."

"You don't have the gun. I know Booth does and I'm highly suspicious that Brennan has a rather large one hidden somewhere. Just shut up!" Neither Booth nor Brennan could stifle a small smile at them. They spent the rest of the drive in a tense silence.

They met a team of four FBI agents at the medical lab. Before Booth had the SUV in park, Brennan was out approaching the other agents. By the time Booth, Wendell and Sweets joined her, she was briefing the agents.

"We are going to retrieve all of the research notes from Dr. James Sullivan. We are also looking for chemicals that are out of place for his research. If you find any bottles, jars, or packages that are marked with any chemical symbols, please don't touch it. Notify me or Mr. Bray. This warrant allows us access to his lab and his office and any storage closet used by him, no other labs or rooms. Let's go." Brennan walked to Wendell and picked up a hard black plastic box that looked like a giant tackle box and walked into the medical lab building. Booth tried to catch up with her. Wendell and Sweets waited for everyone else before they entered. By the time they reached Dr. Sullivan's lab, Booth had caught up with Brennan and was matching her stride for stride. As they reached the door there was a silent scuffle and Booth and Brennan each tried to enter the room first. Booth entered the lab first.

A young man was buttoning his shirt while Dr. Sullivan wiped gel from his forehead. Dr. Sullivan looked up as they entered furrowing his brow for an instant. He turned to the young man, smiled politely and nodded. Dr. Sullivan walked to Booth and Brennan.

"Dr. Sullivan, we have a..." Booth started.

"Dr. Sullivan, could we speak with you for a moment please?" Brennan interrupted.

"Sure, of course, please step into my office." They followed him into his office and declined to sit.

"Dr. Sullivan, we would like to look at your research notes. We are hoping to find some connection that could help us find Robert Newton."

"I wish I could help you but as this research is medical in nature my research is protected by doctor/patient privilege."

"We did anticipate that and in order to allow you to help us legally, we obtained a warrant."

"Oh, well, that was thoughtful, I guess." Dr. Sullivan took the warrant and read it. "This warrant says you are looking for chemicals including hydrochloric acid and any chemicals that can be used to create hydrochloric acid."

"Well, I find that its best to find all potential evidence and then formulate a theory. If someone wanted to do him harm, volunteering to be a subject in your research could potentially give that person access to him, his personal information and your lab."

"Bones." Booth whispered.

"Well, I guess that makes sense." Dr. Sullivan grabbed a set of keys from his desk and unlocked a bank of file cabinets along the wall. Booth nodded to the lab and Brennan followed him.

"Guys, file cabinet in here." Booth called. "Bones," he whispered, "first, I can't believe you are lying that well, good for you, second, you are giving that guy his defense if he's the killer."

"That's why we are getting **all** the files. The only way he could even try to mount that defense is to find a connection in those files. If we have them, he can't, but we can. We have the advantage. Why didn't you tell me being a cop is like a chess game?"

"I'm impressed Bones, I don't think it was him, but I'm impressed."

"Dr. Brennan, I have Newton's file."

"Thanks Wendell." Brennan took the file and started reading. Booth wandered through the lab poking at things with his pen, looking in drawers and cabinets. The agents started boxing up files and loading them into their SUV. Brennan opened her laptop and connected a small scanner and started scanning Newton's file. After she had sent it to Cam, she joined Wendell, Sweets and Booth standing over a recliner.

"...talk to the ex-wife. Hey Dr. Brennan." Sweets was saying. "We were just discussing going to talk to the ex-wife while the agents finish packing this stuff up."

"I'd like to stay here to make sure they get everything."

"I can do that Dr. Brennan." Wendell said. "Dr. Sweets wants to see if everything is a great as it seems." Dr. Brennan shifted in place, looking around the lab. It was obvious she wanted to stay.

"This is going to take them another hour or two. We can go over and talk to her and be back before they finish the file cabinet." Booth said. Sweets noticed that while he smiled and wiggled his eyebrows, his tone was flat. Brennan bit her lip and looked around again.

"Okay." She relented. Booth clapped Wendell on the shoulder and they headed to Booth's SUV.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Booth knew that Sweets wanted to talk to Brennan, now was definitely not the time though. As they got into the vehicle, Booth hooked Sweets' arm.

"Don't push her, got it?"

"Yeah, dude, I totally got it." Sweets couldn't tell what was going on but as soon as they wrapped this case up, he was going to find out. Booth's phone rang as he started the SUV.

"Booth. Hey bub...that's great! Really, he said that? Sure, she's right here." Booth took the phone from his ear and handed it to Brennan. "Parker wants to tell you something."

"Hi Parker. No, what did Max say? Well you **are** very smart. All summer? She did? Sure we can have lunch sometimes. Here's your dad." Brennan smiled at Booth as she handed him back his phone. He grinned at her and she dropped her gaze.

"Okay...I'll see you in a couple of days. I love you too, buddy. Bye." Booth put the phone in his pocket. "Did you do that?"

"You said Rebecca wouldn't let him go to camp and I know you haven't had a chance to talk to Cam so, I called my dad."

"Parker is really excited to spend the summer in science camp with your dad, thank you."

"Its no problem. He asked me if we could all have lunch sometimes when we aren't on a case. You'll get to see him more, at least for the summer."

"Thank you Bones." The tension in the vehicle eased a bit.

"So you signed Parker up for a science camp at the Jeffersonian? Wouldn't his parents have to do that?" Sweets asked.

"I just called my dad and told him Parker would like to do it. My dad called Rebecca after school today."

"Oh. How do you think..."

"Sweets." Booth warned. Sweets sat back quietly. Brennan did not look at Booth but nodded her thanks to him.

They pulled up to the Benjamin's house, as before Brennan, was struck by its charm. As they walked down the front walk, Sweets was rambling about the house.

"...its charming really. Do you think they desire the stereotypical American home because of or despite a hyperrational worldview?" Neither Brennan or Booth answered him. He shrugged and kept on, "I wonder what kind of houses these people grew up in?" Booth glared at him, silencing him. Booth reached up and pushed the door bell.

"Hello? Oh hello Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan! Come in, come in!" Judy Benjamin ushered them in cheerfully and gestured to the couches as before. "Lemonade?" Booth nodded knowing it would be pointless to refuse. Sweets rushed to take the armchair Brennan had occupied last time, leaving Booth and Brennan to share the couch. Judy returned with her tray and set it on the coffee table, Booth and Brennan reaching up to take a glass.

"What can I do for you today?" Judy asked.

"This is Dr. Lance Sweets, he's working with us. We have a few more questions." Booth said.

"Its nice to meet you Dr. Sweets. Of course, anything I can do to help."

"Mrs. Benjamin," Sweets started.

"Please, call me Judy."

"Judy, you were married to Robert Newton for seventeen years. You divorced two years ago and you married Dr. Benjamin three months ago? Is that right?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Agent Booth told me that you divorced Dr. Newton in order to have a relationship with Dr. Benjamin, why wait so long to marry Dr. Benjamin?"

"Well, not exactly, I had romantic feelings for Doug but I didn't want to be unfaithful to my husband. I talked with Robert and he said that while I was the best friend he'd ever have, he agreed that romance had not been part of our relationship in a decade. He said that we should be divorced so that I can be free to fully participate in life."

"You don't think he felt any loss and the end of your marriage?" Sweets asked, finally taking the remaining glass of lemonade.

"I know that, for many, its hard to understand, we didn't view marriage like that. Even if we had, our romantic relationship was brief and long since over. We were friends. Our friendship was deeper than any relationship I have ever had. I knew his every thought but we still enjoyed talking. We both felt a sense of loss when we divorced. I had slept next to my best friend for seventeen years. We both had trouble sleeping at first. Our relationship didn't change, it didn't end, it shifted a little. At first, it was strange, but I started seeing Doug and Robert started seeing Jackie, and we realized that the change only made our lives better. Not only did we have our best friend, but we now had romance. Robert's relationship with Jackie was fleeting and he didn't date anyone seriously after that. It was just like Robert said it would be. He told me that the promise we made was forever and even divorced, he would always be my partner and friend. He was." Sweets looked pointedly as Booth and Brennan. They were looking sympathetically at Judy. If he can avoid getting shot, he would like to talk to Booth and Brennan about some of what Judy was saying.

"How did Dr. Benjamin feel about Robert's continuing relationship with you?" Sweets asked gently.

"Um, I don't understand what you are asking. Are you asking if he was jealous?"

"Was he?" Sweets asked.

"No, why would he be? Jealousy is an instinctual response designed to protect a procreative relationship when there is a limited number of potential mates. Robert and I did not have a romantic relationship, thus there weren't the hormones that accompany a sexual relationship. There is no cause, social or biological for jealousy." Sweets stifled a smile as he glanced at Booth and they both glanced at Brennan. "Have you positively identified the remains found as Robert?"

"We can't be sure. Is there anything you can tell us about Robert that may help us? A genetic condition, cancer, significant breaks, surgeries?" Brennan asked.

"He was in good health. He broke his clavicle once in grade-school but no other breaks or serious injuries." Brennan nodded thoughtfully. Booth knew that she was examining each of the bone fragments in her head. Her gaze was fixed and focused, her hands were moving slightly, turning imaginary bones. _God, she's beautiful. Booth...hey Booth, you are supposed to be working the case!_ Booth said to himself. Judy watched Booth's face as he admired his partner, a sad smile spread across her face.

"Judy," Sweets' voice breaking everyone's reverie, "thank you for taking the time to talk to us today."

"Its no problem." Judy said, her voice muted and sad. "Please let me know if you find anything."

"We will let you know as soon as we can." Sweets said and Booth and Brennan shook Judy's hand. They thanked her for the lemonade and walked to the door.

"Dr. Brennan, could I have a word?" Judy stopped her.

"Sure." Brennan said nodding to the men that they should continue to the SUV.

"Dr. Brennan, the relationship between Robert and I was no longer sexual and romantic, but it was at first. I always wondered what would have happened if we had been friends first. Its always wise to let a relationship develop as it will. Even if it ends, the time you had with that person will one day mean everything. Don't let opportunities pass for fear of losing what you already have, you don't know how long you have and you'll never know what could have been."

"Thank you, Mrs. Benjamin. I will think about that." Brennan smiled and shook Judy's hand again and went to join Booth and Sweets. Brennan hadn't even buckled her seatbelt when they started.

"What did she say?" Booth asked.

"Did she tell you anything?" Sweets asked.

"She just told me that relationships develop and that I shouldn't let opportunities pass out of fear of losing the status quo."

"That's good advice." Sweets said. Booth glared at him and Sweets decided that Wendell was a smart guy and spent the rest of the ride back to Dr. Sullivan's lab staring at his knees. Brennan's phone rang as Booth was parking the vehicle.

"Brennan...we're outside now, we'll be right in. Let's go, they found something." Brennan ran into the building, Booth following closely. Sweets shrugged and jogged after them.

"Wendell." Brennan called as she entered the lab.

"Right here Dr. Brennan, in this small room off of the storage room. We found a jar that has traces of an acid in it. I capped it and bagged it to get back to Hodgins. I didn't want anything to evaporate."

"Good job Wendell." Brennan glanced at the litmus paper.

"It was concentrated, higher than usual lab concentrations. There's more. We found what looks like an acid burn."

"Let's not jump to conclusions."

"I've seen this before, I, uh, did this to a lab table in my Analytical Chem lab in undergrad." Wendell said sheepishly.

"I did it in my second semester of Inorganic Chemistry." Brennan smiled as she walked into the small room. Booth walked over to where they held Dr. Sullivan and leveled a gaze at him.

"That storage room is used by all of the staff here, why would I use acid? I've never even been in that back room." Dr. Sullivan said.

"Hey Booth!" Brennan called. Booth joined her in the little room. "Look at this, the acid damaged the floor too. The damage isn't as great in two spots, here...and here." She pointed out. "They look like"

"Shoe prints." Booth and Brennan walked back to Dr. Sullivan. "Shoes." Booth commanded. Dr. Sullivan looked smug as he kicked his shoes off. Booth picked them up and looked at the sole.

"Right size, wrong shoe." Booth said.

"How about these?" Wendell called triumphantly as he walked out of Dr. Sullivan's office with a pair of badly damaged running shoes.

"Call a car and have him picked up." Booth told the agent next to him. He followed Brennan into Dr. Sullivan's office. Wendell and Brennan were looking through a gym bag.

"Clothes and a few personal effects. Lets bag the whole thing so we don't lose any particulates. Its not enough, Booth."

"They're going to take him in, let's head back. We can eat and then we'll question him and see if we can get more. You know, since I met you, my cases have had conclusive evidence. It isn't always like that. Sometimes, its all circumstantial." Brennan's brow was furrowed as she thought over what Booth had said. She finally nodded and they walked into the lab.

Booth gave instructions to the remaining techs as a cop from the nearby town took Dr. Sullivan into custody. Brennan and Wendell loaded the gym bag, the empty jar and a box of files into the back of Booth's SUV while Booth was talking on the phone and gesturing wildly. Brennan guessed that he was talking to Caroline about what they needed to get a warrant for Dr. Sullivan's house. _No warrant yet._ She thought as she saw the tension in his face and his gesturing became more dramatic. She watched the muscles in his jaw as he spoke. She felt bad that she couldn't give him more to go on with this case. She watched as his eyes softened. She knew that look too. Caroline had relented and was going to see about the warrant. Her heart leapt as she watched him smile and clap an agent on the back. She immediately became angry with herself and stormed around the SUV and got in. She was on the phone with Cam when Booth, Sweets and Wendell got in.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The long uncomfortable silence on the drive back to D.C. was occasionally broken by Sweets and Wendell in their failed attempts at conversation. The quartet carried the evidence into the Jeffersonian. Hodgins and Cam were waiting on the platform and started in before Sweets had set the box of files down.

"I'll take those." Angela said as she walked up the platform. Sweets turned and carried them into her office. Max walked into the lab with an armload of Chinese food.

"I had Max bring food." Cam said as she went back to the evidence. Wendell was engrossed in helping Hodgins collect particulates from the gym bag. Brennan and Booth walked into Brennan's office after her father.

"Didn't find the guy?" Max asked sympathetically.

"We found him, we think." Booth said. "We just don't have much to hold him on. Hopefully he'll give us more after we question him. Thanks for getting Parker into the summer camp."

"No problem, Booth. He's a good kid. Smart. He made me promise I'll bring him over here to have lunch sometimes." Max laughed.

"He mentioned that to me too." Brennan said.

"Just keep him away from Hodgins. Rebecca won't take in anymore bugs as pets and I keep killing them." Booth said with a chuckle. Sweets joined them and they chatted and ate. After awhile, Booth got a call from Charlie to let him know that Dr. Sullivan had arrived and was ready to be questioned. Booth, Brennan and Sweets headed to the Hoover building.

Dr. Sullivan sat smugly as Booth entered the interrogation room. Brennan and Sweets were watching from the observation room. Brennan watched Booth get increasingly frustrated as Dr. Sullivan deflected each question.

"He believes that Agent Booth is beneath him." Sweets explained. "He believes he has gotten away with this murder and there is nothing that we can do to him. He feels invincible." Brennan tilted her head slightly and stared at Dr. Sullivan. Booth left the interrogation room and entered the observation room.

"He claims the gym bag was left by a research subject and still insists that he was never in the small room." Suddenly Brennan perked up. She walked to the door.

"Whoa whoa whoa, where are you going?" Booth asked as he caught her arm.

"To question him."

"Bones, you know, that's not really your thing." Booth said, trying to be delicate.

"I get it." was all Brennan would say. She freed her arm and walked into the interrogation room before Booth and Sweets could stop her.

"Don't you think..." Sweets started.

"She gets it." Booth shrugged.

"Dr. Sullivan," she said as she walked in, "Please tell me how the shoes in the gym bag were damaged."

"Jeez!" Booth sighed as he smacked his forehead.

"As I told Agent Booth, the bag was left by one of my research subjects. I don't know how they were damaged."

"You insist that they are not your shoes?"

"No, Dr. Brennan, they are not mine. They aren't even my size."

"And you do not know to whom they belong?"

"No. I found them near a recliner in my lab."

"Do you see each of your research subjects personally?"

"I do."

"And you log their participation in addition to the numbered data?"

"I do."

"Then wouldn't you know to whom the shoes belonged?"

"Nice!" Booth said, impressed.

"No. I didn't find it until sometime after my last appointment."

"On what day did you find them?"

"I don't remember."

"How long have they been in your office?"

"I don't really remember."

"Have you asked anyone if it was their bag?"

"No."

"Have you seen any subjects since you found the bag?"

"Yes. I keep the bag in my office and forgot to ask about it." Brennan's phone rang. She excused herself to the hallway. Booth and Sweets scrambled out of the observation room.

"...yes, that's what I thought. Call Judy Benjamin and verify. Thanks Wendell."

"What?" Booth and Sweets said in unison.

"The gym bag was planted after our last visit. It wasn't there before. The clothes inside are mismatched sizes. He damaged the shoes after our visit. You were right, I was handing him a defense, and he took the bait." Brennan turned around and walked back into interrogation, Booth and Sweets right behind her.

"Dr. Sullivan, as I'm sure you know, the gym clothes do not match your size. Are any of your subjects rather short?"

"Yes."

"Are there any that are obese?"

"Yes."

"How did clothes of varying sizes get into the bag?"

"What?"

"The clothes in the gym bag do not match each other. There's no where in your lab where you could place a whole human into acid. Federal Agents are searching your house now, but I suspect you are smarter than that. But you aren't smart enough." Booth and Sweets looked at Brennan.

"I assure you, I am innocent of doing any harm to Robert Newton but I am certainly smart enough to have committed the crime. I wouldn't have left evidence in my own lab, I would have killed and dumped the body at the scene."

"Why would anyone take such pains to set you up? After all, you barely knew the man, why would we believe you killed him?"

"And yet here we are."

"You know my people are very good. They can take a bit of bone and determine where a person has lived. They are so good, they can get DNA from sweat left in a gym shoe."

"I have heard that."

"Perhaps in my last book?"

"I did read it, yes."

"You don't see the assistants in your building as worthy of notice, so you don't notice them. You never thought we'd talk to them about a place to retrieve lost articles."

"Lost and Found, Bones, Lost and Found" Booth said.

"Yes, Lost and Found. Did you know your building had one." Dr. Sullivan's eyes were wide. Sweets saw his opportunity.

"Dr. Brennan, only a great fool would plant evidence in a murder he didn't commit." Sweets said, hoping Dr. Brennan would see where he was going.

"And only the killer would have the victim's blood to plant in the gym bag." Dr. Brennan said. Sweets breathed easier.

"I didn't! There wasn't any blood, Robert was killed with a blow to the head. His body was dumped into a small limestone shell and dissolved in acid." Dr. Sullivan yelled, indignant and desperate. He looked up and saw the triumph on the faces of his accusers. "I'd like to call my lawyer please."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Booth and Brennan were seated on the couch in Brennan's office with Angela wedged between them. Hodgins and Wendell were seated in arm chairs and Cam, Sweets and Max were seated in mismatched desk chairs listening intently as Booth and Sweets told them the story of Brennan's interrogation, with many interruptions and corrections by Brennan of course.

"Its was like Bizarro Brennan." Sweets was saying. There was a spattering of confusion and the group ignored the comment.

"It's backwards." Hodgins said, "Normally, Brennan gives Booth all the evidence and Booth has the hunches. This time, all the evidence was circumstantial and Brennan had a hunch."

"It wasn't a hunch!" The laughter that erupted stopped her from explaining further. There was a knock on the office door. Everyone turned to see Charlie standing there.

"Come on in." Sweets called. Hodgins and Wendell exchanged desperate expressions and both of them bolted for the door.

"Jack." Angela said. Hodgins stopped knowing that his escape had been thwarted. Wendell gave him a sympathetic look as he ran.

Angela stood, leavening Booth and Brennan alone on the couch, and walked to the door dragging Hodgins back into the office. Max stood and crossed to Brennan.

"They love you baby. Just listen." He said leaning in to kiss her cheek. "Booth, don't shoot them." He said before he stood up and left. At the door he passed Caroline.

"How are you doing, cher?" Caroline said as they passed. Max just smiled and nodded. "Chicken." she said at his back. She walked in and took the seat that Hodgins had fled. "Okay, let's do this."

"Uh, okay." Dr. Sweets said nervously, clearing his throat. He had told everyone that they will be more effective in Brennan's office on her home turf, but he was feeling intimidated. "Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan, we have noticed that there is a certain tension in the work environment and we would like to address it. Booth looked at Brennan. She looked downright terrified. Booth shot a warning look around the room resting on Sweets. Sweets faltered, visibly shaken at Booth's glare.

Caroline was unfazed, "Look, we know you two have all kinds of feeling for each other. We can't take it anymore, you are driving us crazy. We want you to talk. These fine ladies and gentlemen have written you letters and we're all just going to sit back and listen to them. Dr. Sweets, whose first?"

"I'll go first." Dr. Sweets said.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Dr. Sweets

"Dear Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan,

I was originally assigned to evaluate your working relationship and whether you could continue to work with one another after Agent Booth arrested Max Keenan. I saw a unique relationship; you two built trust and friendship based on complementary traits and a singular mission, to find truth. I saw that you didn't need me, you didn't need regular therapy, you have good friends and colleagues that you can share with and rely on, and that keeps you centered and focused. Our relationship evolved to that of colleagues as I agreed to consult on cases if you agreed to let me study your relationship. I am here today, ruining my research. I am here as a friend and colleague to talk with you about what I see. The only problem you two really have is that you both keep your inner dialogue from each other.

Agent Booth, you care deeply for Dr. Brennan, you feel responsible for keeping her safe while chasing down killers, but you try to protect her from other injuries outside work. You helped her deal with the loss of her mother and helped her find her father and brother and rebuild a relationship with them. You have taught her to let others see how deeply she connects, and helped her to better understand how people relate to one another.

Dr. Brennan, you have developed a trust for Agent Booth, something that has been difficult for you after the loss of your parents. You see Agent Booth's intelligence and recognize the genius he has for relating to people. You are as protective of him as he is of you. You understand his past and instead of merely being sympathetic, you accept it as part of him. You care deeply for Agent Booth.

You work together very well but there is going to be a decline in your efficiency if you two do not talk about the depth of your feelings. We would like you to talk to each other, to be clear and honest with each other so that you can continue to be the best forensic team in the FBI."

Booth glanced at Brennan as Dr. Sweets talked about her family. Her face was pale and frozen. He knew that she was trying to regain control and hide her emotions. He wanted to squeeze her hand and reassure her but with everyone here looking at them, it would only make things worse. Booth's face contorted unconsciously into a mess of emotion. Sweets dropped the letter on the coffee table in front of Booth and Brennan and Booth looked at him. The look was murderous and Sweets retreated to safety. Booth looked around the room to see from which direction the next assault would come. He looked miserable. Hodgins looked almost as miserable as Booth as Angela shoved him.

Hodgins

"Uh, okay. I didn't write you a letter, I've said all this to you guys before. Booth, she trusts you man, she doesn't trust anybody. Dr. B, he's a good guy, he won't let you down, he hasn't let any of us down. When you and I were in that car...when we were in there...I was thinking of...well we all know who I was thinking of. We know who you were thinking of too. We know who it was that got to us, to you, in time. You have faith in him. Don't be afraid of things changing, sometimes the change is wonderful. Sometimes the change is uncomfortable, but it will happen. Just let it, just go with it." Hodgins shot a sympathetic look to Booth and mouthed '_I'm sorry._' Booth met his eyes and gave him a quick nod of absolution. Brennan sat, still dumbfounded. She looked like she was in shock. Booth was in shock himself, they all really thought that he had rescued her and she obviously confessed something to Hodgins.

Charlie cleared his throat tentatively and nervously avoided Booth's gaze. He opened his letter and sighed deeply.

Charlie

"I have worked with Agent Booth for several years now and have gotten to know Dr. Brennan through our contact in Booth's office. Dr. Brennan is a remarkable woman. She's smart, and she is trained in the martial arts, but she sees things no one else sees. She's a legend, she gives lost souls back their identities. She has given Booth back his. Booth was angry, driven and effective before he met Dr. Brennan. Now, he's more driven, more effective but instead of being angry, he's fun to work with. We can joke with him, and he jokes back. He was always a good agent, he's the best there is now. Dr. Brennan you have brought a light to Booth. He is happy and shines when you are in the office, or when he's talking to you on the phone. We can all see how much you mean to each other and we want you to be happy." Charlie dropped his letter on the coffee table in front of Booth and walked to the edge of the couch. Cam stood and smiled and Booth.

Cam

"I've known Seeley for a long time. I know what he was like, and he's a better man now. I have known Dr. Brennan for three years now and even in that short time there has been change. Dr. Brennan is more balanced than she was before. She may never have your people skills, Seeley, but she is more balanced. Seeley, you are very protective. I know that you think that you pressed me and caused me to be hurt. I know that you think I cut into Caroline Epps' skull without a complete examination because you asked me too. As I've told you, if we had x-rayed it first I would have tried to remove it with forceps and it would have broken anyway. Epps planned it that way. You believe that you can't properly protect Dr. Brennan and that she will act because of her faith in you, but it doesn't matter whether or not you speak about what is there. She already acts because of her faith in you; friend, partner, lover, there is nothing you could ask her that she wouldn't do purely because of her trust in you. This unspoken tension between you two is distracting you. You are less effective and less safe until you get through this. You love her Seeley, you are concerned for her safety and well-being as your partner. You worry about her and fuss over her as a great friend. You gaze at her and touch her and revere her as a lover. Tell her Seeley, you're not protecting anything this way. Tell her." Cam was confident and direct. Her voice was clear, not tentative, not bashful. She met Booth's eyes. She looked at him kindly but expectantly.

Angela walked to the far corner of the coffee table and waited until Cam dropped her letter on the table.

Angela

"Sweetie, I love you, I really do, but you are blind." Angela unfolded her letter. "Brennan is my best friend and I have been there for a lot of girl talk about guys. She talks about you differently, Booth. I don't mean the lack of physical contact. She wants to understand you, better than she's ever wanted to understand anyone. She respects your integrity, your honor, your strength, and your intelligence. She's not good with emotions. She just swallows them until they erupt, you know that better than anyone. You don't let her get away with that, she needs you. Brennan, you lost your family and its taken you a long time to let us in. We're a family now, all of us here. Me, Hodgins, Cam, Zach and you and Booth, even Sweets, family. Even though Zach can't be with us, we all still care and go visit. He's like our little brother. I think of you and Hodgins like fraternal twins, you think the same, you talk the same, and you have a bond, a shared experience. You are like a sister to me, you are my best friend. I know I can talk to you about anything. You know you can talk to me about anything. I know you love me but I am no longer your best friend. I've been bumped to second best and I couldn't be happier. Sweetie, you love this man. He's hot, he's strong, he's always going to be there for you. You need to tell him how you feel. No, you need to take this man home and," Angela glanced up at the room and skipped the rest of that sentence, "You're killing me Sweetie. Just talk to each other, please." Angela walked around the coffee table and handed Brennan the letter, kissing her cheek. She picked Brennan's hand up and placed it into Booth's hand.

"Alright, that's enough. Let them be." Caroline stated and waved everyone out of the room. "Steamboats, lots of steamboats." Caroline said as she shut the door behind them. Booth and Brennan sat in a stunned silence. They knew they needed to talk, they knew that every word was true, but no words would come. Brennan's eyes were full of tears. Her family, Zach, Booth, there were too many emotions swimming in her head. She shook her head but it was no use. She wanted to run, get away from the lab and clear her head but there was no way she could just leave now. Booth looked at Brennan's hand, still in his. He squeezed it gently. There was so much he should say, so much he wanted to say but his mouth wouldn't open. They sat there, just trying to breathe. Booth glanced at Brennan's face and saw her fear and desperation. He knew what she was going to do before she did. He started to stand. Brennan stood up and ran out of the lab snatching her purse of the coat rack as she left. Booth was right behind her. He watched her pull out and drive off. "Damn." He said as he ran to his SUV.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Booth pulled up outside Brennan's apartment. He sprinted across the sidewalk.

"Hey Booth!" Booth turned to see Max standing there with an armful of Thai food. He handed Booth the food, winked and walked away. Moments later Booth knocked on her door.

"Go away!" Brennan called from the couch.

"Its Booth."

"I know."

"I have food."

"Not hungry."

"I'll break down the door."

"That will hurt your shoulder."

"I'll do it anyway."

"You have a key."

"Oh...yeah." There was a rustle and then Brennan heard the key turn in the lock. She was on her feet. She walked into the kitchen to retrieve dishes and flatware. Booth set the boxes of food on the coffee table. "Max met me in front of your building." Booth said sheepishly. Brennan set the dishes on the coffee table and walked back toward the kitchen. Booth followed her. "I really need to talk to you."

"Obviously." She said, quickening her pace. Booth darted forward and placed his hand against the wall, shoulder level, blocking her egress. She turned and his other hand was already blocking her way. She flattened her back against the wall getting as much space as she could. Booth leaned slightly onto his hands, bringing his face level with hers. She weighed possible action. She didn't have the space to get enough force for a headbutt, it wouldn't work anyway, she'd seen a British sculler nearly knock himself out, claiming Booth's head was 'like a boulder'. She was pinned too closely to get enough leverage to shove him backward. Any strikes delivered to his lower abdomen would just be an annoyance or cause him to fall forward onto her. All that was left were desperate strikes to burst his ear drums or crush the cricoid cartilage around his trachea. He would see her shoulder shift and she really didn't want to send him to the hospital.

Booth fought to remain in control. Their faces were so close he could feel her body heat on his cheek. He could smell her shampoo, her perfume, the smell of the lab in her clothes. Booth's breath was fast and shallow, not from exertion, but adrenaline. His pulse was racing. He could see that Brennan wasn't breathing any deeper, and he could see her pulse racing through a small artery in her neck. He took a deep breath, steadying himself.

"Bones, we're partners, friends; we can't have this tension. Its going to get us fired or killed."

"I know." She whispered, still not meeting his gaze. He shifted his weight onto his left arm and brought his right hand to her cheek. Instead of using the second knuckle on his right forefinger, he placed his palm on her cheek with his thumb under her chin. He gently lifted her face up and looked in her eyes. She looked back, tears filling her clear blue eyes. Her eyes held fear, desperation, longing, and love. Booth could feel his eyes stinging, he knew tears were filling his eyes too. Brennan held her breath. She could see his eyes were filled with emotion. She couldn't list them as easily as Booth, but she could see that he was scared, and was worried about her, there was the usual warmth, and something more. The intensity in his eyes made her heart hurt. Booth could take no more. He closed his eyes and let his forehead rest lightly on hers. She closed her eyes and exhaled. The contact made it easier for them to breathe.

"That was really mean, ganging up on us like that." Booth whispered. "They didn't need to say that stuff about your family, about Zach. Its one thing to deal with it all when you are prepared, but to spring it on you when you aren't expecting it is harsh. They shouldn't have done that. "

"I'm okay." Brennan sighed.

"You are not okay, Bones." Booth's heart ached as he felt her tears moisten his hand. "You're crying."

"I...it's just..."

"Shhhh, just listen Bones. What Angela said about family, was right. We are family, all of us. I told you that before. Its okay to love your family. I know its hard for you to use the word love, I know what you are afraid of. We aren't going to leave you."

"Zach did."

"No, he didn't. He made a mistake, but he's still here with us. You visit him all the time."

"But he's not working with me anymore."

"Bones...Temperance...they were right. We get comfortable, think we have everything in control, you and I. We don't want anything to change. The change happens, happened, without us. Why can't we talk about how we feel? You're my partner, you've saved my life, but I can't admit how much I care for you." A sharp intake of breath from Brennan told Booth that this is what she feared. "Cam is right, I'm afraid if I admit, if anyone knows, how much you mean to me that I won't be able to protect you. That I'll lose you." Brennan let out a strangled sob. "I'm really sorry that I crossed the line. I betrayed your trust. I'm really angry with myself for taking advantage of you like that. You are such a beautiful woman...I...I lost...I shouldn't have..." Booth took a deep breath, "I'm sorry."

"Booth"

"Sh, I know why you were angry with me, I know I broke my promise. I let bad guys get to you, I crossed the line. You have no reason to have faith in me but I'm asking you to trust me, I won't fail you again. I won't leave you, and I won't cross that line again."

"Booth, you've never failed me. Nothing that has happened to me was your fault, well, nothing bad anyway. You were always there to save me. I wasn't angry with you. I was angry with myself, I don't want to hurt you, like Rebecca did. I don't believe in marriage and I know that that's what you want. I'm not good at family, I don't know how to...I don't know how to care about someone. You are a good man and a good father and you need someone that can love you without fear and hesitation."

"Are you trying to say you love me?" Brennan let out a pained squeak. "Is that why you pulled away, you were afraid I didn't want you? That you aren't good enough to love?" Her eyes were pleading, afraid. "Oh god," tears spilled from his eyes. His right hand rubbed her cheek. "Bones, you are more that good enough. You're the perfect woman, you're smart, caring, beautiful. I want you. God, Temperance Brennan I want you. I love you." He pressed his wet cheek to hers. She sobbed openly. He shifted his weight, and took his arm off the wall pulling her into him.

"Booth, you...even though...and you thought...Booth, I" He grabbed her other cheek with his left hand and kissed her. He held her, kissing her gently, crying with her. They kissed until the pain and fear had drained, they kissed until no more tears fell, they kissed until their muscles started aching and their lungs burned. Booth pulled away slowly, his eyes opening to look at the woman he loved. He watched her blue eyes open slowly, the fear gone. His stomach lurched as he saw a warm, loving smile spread across her face.

"I love you too Booth." His smile matched hers and he kissed her again. Booth half carried, half dragged her to the couch. They sat, holding each other, feeling drained. Brennan rested her head against Booth's chin. She smiled dreamily. Booth started chuckling. She sat up and looked at him. He grinned, his chuckle turned into a laugh.

"We are going to have to move and change jobs." He said as he leaned forward and started scooping food from boxes.

"I know, Angela will be horrible." She laughed taking a plate from him.

"Did you see the way Wendell ran?"


End file.
